Letter: Now is time to address gun control

Mass shooting. Two words that immediately silence a room. The words that are spoken in reaction are often all too similar. 'Our thoughts and prayers to whoever was affected this time.” 'This time” because the FBI released a report informing the public that 'There were, on average, 16.4 such shootings a year from 2007 to 2013.” But afterward, people are not willing to address the issues at the root of the problem.

Far too many people's responses to tough issues such as gun control after horrific events such as these are that this is a time for mourning, not the politicization of awful occurrences.

But if a mass shooting is occurring every 22 days, when is the time for that conversation? When do we address that if an individual was not allowed access to 42 weapons capable of performing the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, we would not be mourning right now? When are we allowed to address the fact that many of our politicians have alliance to the NRA due to the fact they are heavily funded by them? Because until we can face the fact we must weigh human lives against being able to own a gun capable of killing many in a short amount of time, we will not make progress in gun control legislation, and mass shootings will not stop.

Contact elected officials, tell them how you stand. Do not continue to stand by watching national tragedies due to a reluctance to take a stand.

Abigail Owens

Cedar Rapids