Been pondering in the porch swing and shedding tears today for the families of the children killed in the mass shooting during a 16th birthday party in Dadeville. You never think this kind of violence would invade a small town but Saturday night gun violence changed the lives of the town forever. As I write this, there are 4 confirmed deaths and 28 injured, some in critical condition at surrounding hospitals. The callousness of this act makes me physically sick. The nightmare for the families and friends will follow them the rest of their lives. I lost a child in a car wreck and it was a nightmare. To have your child shot and killed at an innocent birthday party is unimaginable to me. My heart breaks for everyone involved. And I can do nothing but pray they find some peace one day.

Who would have ever thought American school children would be practicing intruder drills or drills on hiding from a gunman. I wonder if these drills scare them or do they just accept them as part of their lives.

This year has seen 131 mass shootings involving four or more persons. Each day in the United States 12 children die from gun violence and another 32 are shot or injured. In 2022, 34 students and adults died from gunshots and 43,000 children were exposed to gunfire at their schools. Seven mass shootings were logged for this Saturday, April 15, in seven different states. The first ten days of April saw 15 mass shootings. We’ve had more mass shootings than days in 2023. These mass shootings are slowly becoming the norm in our society. How did this come to be?

When I was little we played cops and robbers and cowboys and Indians with harmless cap guns and learned how to negotiate when we had squabbles or got mad with each other. The world seems to have a chip on its shoulder. We’ve not learned that its okay to disagree and have a different opinion. We don’t have to like everyone we associate with or come in contact with but we do have to respect them as a human being.

Research says we need sensible gun control and mental health intervention. We need to reduce easy access to dangerous weapons. I don’t know the answers and I don’t know the whys but we as a nation need to get down on our knees and prayerfully ask the Lord for help with gun violence in America.