I thought I would share a Facebook post I wrote from this date in 2018. While I hold out hope that we might one day find this shared truth as a nation, I am relatively certain I could post this in another six years, and it would be just as relevant as it is today. Alas, as a gun owner myself, I give these words back to you today.

February 16, 2018:

Why must we limit the causation of horrific acts to a single factor? Nobody blames guns. Nobody should blame the mentally ill. This is not about blame. This is about prevention. It’s not about the 2nd Amendment. It’s about our children. Who says we have to search for a single-track solution. One simply does not exist. But this isn’t really about finding a solution.

You see, to find common ground, you have to have shared truth. We could not address the public health crisis of smoking as long as society didn’t accept the truth that smoking tobacco makes people sick. The tobacco itself isn’t inherently bad. Nobody blames the plant. But you cannot remove tobacco from the equation. We could not address the crisis until we accepted the inconvenient truth.

We will continue down the same road we’re on until we accept the fact that a lot of people should never come into possession of a gun. Just like we accept that few people should have access to a bazooka. Just like we accept that vehicles must be regulated. Just like we accept that bridges must meet stringent construction standards. There will be no solution until we are courageous enough to admit that we have a problem. We will not solve anything until we accept that what we’re currently doing, is not working.

If you pray, pray we’ll reach our shared truth. If you act, act in the memory of those we have failed. Be courageous enough to find a new way. But please, do something.