Everyday I sent my children to school in Cody, Wyoming, I was afraid. With the proliferation of gun violence in the nation, and the fact that here in the Wild West, most, if not all, are gun-owners.
Between the hunting , cowboy, and the “don’t tread on me” cultures, guns are everywhere in Wyoming. We house the most premiere gun museum in the nation. A gun rack in a truck is all too common.
So, I thought with that much access, it was a matter of time before a gun got in the hands of the wrong person and we would have a school incident in Cody.
My state does not want any kind of reasonable gun regulations. I always used to think, “wait until it happens here,” because it’s just a matter of time.
Never in my wildest imagination did I think the first time gun violence would hit so close to home for me, that it would be where I grew up in Lewiston/Auburn.
Rocked to my core, like all Mainers, I am no longer hopeful like the meme said which immediately surfaced on Facebook following the mass shooting on Wednesday.
Hopeful for what? That things will suddenly change? Hopeful that significant funding will finally be designated for mental health, like so many say is the solution.
I’m not hopeful.
I’m desperately sad, particularly when I am aware that there are so many first-world countries that do not experience gun violence like we do.
Do they send their kids to school afraid like I do, like we do? I bet not. Do they watch their cousins, fathers, sons, mothers, and daughters die at a bowling ally or at a bar where there is a cornhole tournament?
The irony in that.
What’s more American these days than a cornhole tournament?
And here we are, in America, no longer free. We are no longer allowed to move around freely. The enemy that we were afraid of, and thus gave us our Second Amendment, are everyday people on the streets with guns. Instead of a “well-regulated militia,” we are now fighting for our lives against a very unregulated militia.
This is not the America our forefathers anticipated. We are bleeding. We are dying. We are sheltered in place. We know the answers. Step up. Stop politicking. Be willing to put in a little extra work if we want to hunt. Give up automatic weapons. Write to your leaders.
Freedom comes at a price. How much more are we willing to pay?
I’d send my loved ones in LA thoughts and prayers if I thought would change things.
What I’m giving you instead is action. That is my way of saying, “I’m so sorry.”
Join me in the battle of our lifetime to protect our country from the enemy.
Sarah Mikesell Growney, Pine Haven, Wyoming
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