From our friends, the Team at Carolina Forward (carolinaforward.org):
Like you, we watched the horror play out... with dread. The death toll in Uvalde mounted: 12. 14. 16. Finally, 19 more dead kids - plus the 2 teachers who heroically spent their last few minutes of life trying to protect them.
There are no words for horror like this. Particularly for those of us who are parents ourselves, we hear about yet another school shooting like this with a ghastly pit in our stomach: there, but for grace of God, go I.
And it’s not just Uvalde. It was Buffalo. It was Pittsburgh. It was Hialeah and Parkland and El Paso and dozens more that have just become the cold numbers that make up America’s rising epidemic of gun violence.
It can be easy to feel despair about guns in America. But hear us out - all is not lost. Consider this: most voters, including most Republicans and most gun owners, actually agree on basic gun safety reforms!
87% of voters support preventing people with serious mental illnesses from buying weapons
81% of voters support making private and gun show sales subject to background checks
66% of voters support creating a federal database to track gun sales
63% of voters support banning assault weapons (Source: Pew Research)
In other words - we Americans are not nearly so divided on this issue as it seems.
Republicans in our state legislature have been trying to repeal even basic gun safety measures, like permits for handgun purchases and concealed carry. Republican lawmakers have even proposed bills that would give raises to teachers who agree to carry loaded handguns into classrooms, and allow "community volunteers” to patrol school grounds with their own loaded firearms.
We can’t let that happen.
Finally - guess [who spoke] at the NRA annual conference Friday [May 27]? Our own Lt. Governor Mark Robinson. (Yes, seriously.)
But [you couldn't take] your firearm with you to hear him speak. The NRA doesn’t allow them inside the speakers’ convention hall. After all, their speakers are important, and they want to keep them safe.
We wish they had the same concern for our kids.