Is it time for America to create a National Day of Mourning for gun violence victims?
Think about that.
Memorial Day I wrote a piece about how children’s funerals create memories that cannot be forgotten and my difficulty in finding peace in my relationship with God. Sitting in a neighborhood church the evening of September 11, 2001, feels like the last time the ritual of praying and singing in community brought calm. The day the world changed, and innocent people became the hunted of those with evil in their plans.
My final paragraph of the original work was my main message: If there is a way to create calm or comfort for those mourning in Uvalde, please let that happen. For the near future, lets put guns in the safes and do gun related political theater in backrooms. These are days to stand with the grieving and honor the children and their teachers.
Tuesday stats about gun violence across the country over Memorial Weekend were published. Wednesday a lone gunman took lives in Tulsa. And local schools cancelled their last days of school because of shooter threats. Babies being buried in one state and grieving beginning in others. The circle doesn’t close. Violent gun carriers, particularly those with assault guns, don’t give us a day off.
Perhaps it is time for America to create a National Day of Mourning for gun victims. Place the day somewhere in a quiet month like March where it won’t morph into a cookout festival. And make it a Wednesday so the travel industry won’t advertise three-day weekends in happy places. Mark the day as special by pairing it with a mandatory national service initiative. Support those who grieve and remember the potential our nation lost in each of those unnatural deaths. If there is no way to control the killing, let us at least honor our dead and remember their names.
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2 responses to “National Day of Mourning”
Sadly, there is no end to the violence and wrongful deaths in this country and beyond. A “National Day of Mourning” is needed every day. Perhaps the politicians and others who “don’t get it” need to take a trip to the morgue. It’s true – no one can fathom parents’ shattered hearts until it happens to them. A reality much worse than anyone could ever imagine. I know.
I cannot believe that we let people walk around so freely with guns. My heart breaks for all the victims, especially the children. And for the parents. I can’t begin to imagine what it must be like for them.