Enough

"If I say, 'I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,' then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot." Jeremiah 20:9


Whether Einstein coined the phrase or not, I still believe it to be true: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Again this week, I had another entry ready to post—until I heard the sickening news that another teenaged boy with a gun had entered an elementary school killing everyone in his path.


And America yawned—or at least half the US Senate did. Oh, at first they slapped on the platitudes, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you,” followed by “It’s too soon to talk about gun policies,” and ending with the attack on those who are trying to “politicize an unfortunate event in an effort to take away our 2nd Amendment Rights!” And let’s not forget “Guns don’t kill people….”


The leading cause of deaths among children and adolescents in our nation is no longer automobile accidents. Since 2020, “firearm deaths” have become the #1 killer of our children. And yet, as a nation, we do nothing. Why? Because we care more about protecting unfettered access to weapons than we do about our children, plain and simple. If this were not true, we would do something to change the situation, plain and simple.


I grew up before there were seat belts in cars, much less seat belt “laws.” The same goes for car seats, front wheel drive, all-wheel drive, anti-lock brakes, and other safety measures added to cars in the last 60 years. People whined and wailed about their personal freedom being taken away, but now they shut up and buckle up. They did the same about smoking in restaurants, but I don’t miss the days of paying for a meal while breathing in toxic second-hand smoke. I don’t buy the argument that your right to smoke supersedes my right to breathe any more than I believe anyone has the right to terrorize and murder children as an acceptable alternative to gun regulation of any kind.


I doubt the Founding Fathers (for whom bearing “arms” meant a single-shot, muzzle-loading musket) anticipated the advent of semi and fully automatic weapons, high-capacity magazines, or armor-piercing bullets. So there is a lot of room for sensible legislation like comprehensive background checks (which at least 75-90% of American voters favor) or keeping guns out of the hands of mentally impaired persons who pose a danger to others. But, like I said, we care more about our rights than about our children and grandchildren. Even though there are more guns in the US than people or automobiles, we have to defend ourselves.


If my opinion bothers you (which would require you reading this blog, which is not a given) or even angers you—well—I am angry and sad and sick that 19 babies were butchered yesterday. I am very bothered. Jesus told Peter, “If you love me, feed my lambs.” Care for the young and vulnerable among you. And if you made it this far, read the list below—it contains every school and university where a shooting has taken place, beginning with Columbine in 1999. Read the list and pray for everyone involved—as long as you are really praying it is not a platitude! Then let your prayer (or even your anger) spur you into action. 


There is no excuse for doing nothing. Let Congress know that, in the name of Jesus Christ.


Columbine High School

Heritage High School

Deming Middle School

Fort Gibson Middle School

Buell Elementary School

Lake Worth Middle School

University of Arkansas.

Junipero Serra High School

Santana High School

Bishop Neumann High School

Pacific Lutheran University

Granite Hills High School

Lew Wallace High School

Martin Luther King, Jr. High School

Appalachian School of Law

Washington High School

Conception Abbey

Benjamin Tasker Middle School

University of Arizona

Lincoln High School

John McDonogh High School

Red Lion Area Junior High School

Case Western Reserve University

Rocori High School

Ballou High School

Randallstown High School

Bowen High School

Red Lake Senior High School

Harlan Community Academy High School

Campbell County High School

Milwee Middle School

Roseburg High School

Pine Middle School

Essex Elementary School

Duquesne University

Platte Canyon Middle School

Weston High School

West Nickel Mines School

Joplin Memorial Middle School

Henry Foss High School

Compton Centennial High School

Virginia Tech

Success Tech Academy

Miami Carol City Senior High School

Hamilton High School

Louisiana Technical College

Mitchell High School

E.O. Green Junior High School

Northern Illinois University

Lakota Middle School

Knoxville Central High School

Willoughby South High School

Henry Ford High School

University of Central Arkansas

Dillard High School

Dunbar High School

Hampton University

Harvard College

Larose-Cut Off Middle School

International Studies Academy

Skyline College

Discovery Middle School

University of Alabama

DeKalb School

Deer Creek Middle School

Ohio State University

Mumford High School

University of Texas

Kelly Elementary School

Marinette High School

Aurora Central High School

Millard South High School

Martinsville West Middle School

Worthing High School

Millard South High School

Highlands Intermediate School

Cape Fear High School

Chardon High School

Episcopal School of Jacksonville

Oikos University

Hamilton High School

Perry Hall High School

Normal Community High School

University of South Alabama

Banner Academy South

University of Southern California

Sandy Hook Elementary School

Apostolic Revival Center Christian School

Taft Union High School

Osborn High School

Stevens Institute of Business and Arts

Hazard Community and Technical College

Chicago State University

Lone Star College-North.

Cesar Chavez High School

Price Middle School

University of Central Florida

New River Community College

Grambling State University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School

Ronald E. McNair Discovery Academy

North Panola High School

Carver High School

Agape Christian Academy

Sparks Middle School

North Carolina A&T State University

Stephenson High School

Brashear High School

West Orange High School

Arapahoe High School

Edison High School

Liberty Technology Magnet High School

Hillhouse High School

Berrendo Middle School

Purdue University

South Carolina State University

Los Angeles Valley College

Charles F. Brush High School

University of Southern California

Georgia Regents University

Academy of Knowledge Preschool

Benjamin Banneker High School

D. H. Conley High School

East English Village Preparatory Academy

Paine College

Georgia Gwinnett College

John F. Kennedy High School

Seattle Pacific University

Reynolds High School

Indiana State University

Albemarle High School

Fern Creek Traditional High School

Langston Hughes High School

Marysville Pilchuck High School

Florida State University

Miami Carol City High School

Rogers State University

Rosemary Anderson High School

Wisconsin Lutheran High School

Frederick High School

Tenaya Middle School

Bethune-Cookman University

Pershing Elementary School

Wayne Community College

J.B. Martin Middle School

Southwestern Classical Academy

Savannah State University

Harrisburg High School

Umpqua Community College

Northern Arizona University

Texas Southern University

Tennessee State University

Winston-Salem State University

Mojave High School

Lawrence Central High School

Franklin High School

Muskegon Heights High School

Independence High School

Madison High School

Antigo High School

University of California-Los Angeles

Jeremiah Burke High School

Alpine High School

Townville Elementary School

Vigor High School

Linden McKinley STEM Academy

June Jordan High School for Equity

Union Middle School

Mueller Park Junior High School

West Liberty-Salem High School

University of Washington

King City High School

North Park Elementary School

North Lake College

Freeman High School

Mattoon High School

Rancho Tehama Elementary School

Aztec High School

Wake Forest University.

Italy High School

NET Charter High School

Marshall County High School

Sal Castro Middle School

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland)

Great Mills High School

Central Michigan University

Huffman High School

Frederick Douglass High School

Forest High School

Highland High School

Dixon High School

Santa Fe High School

Noblesville West Middle School

University of North Carolina Charlotte

STEM School

Highlands Ranch Edgewood High School

Palm Beach Central High School

Providence Career & Technical Academy

Fairley High School (school bus)

Canyon Springs High School

Dennis Intermediate School

Florida International University

Central Elementary School

Cascade Middle School

Davidson High School

Prairie View A & M University

Altascocita High School

Central Academy of Excellence

Cleveland High School

Robert E. Lee High School

Cheyenne South High School

Grambling State University

Blountsville Elementary School

Holmes County, Mississippi (school bus)

Prescott High School

College of the Mainland

Wynbrooke Elementary School

UNC Charlotte

Riverview Florida (school bus)S

Second Chance High School

Carman-Ainsworth High School

Williwaw Elementary School

Monroe Clark Middle School

Central Catholic High School

Jeanette High School

Eastern Hills High School

DeAnza High School

Ridgway High School

Reginald F. Lewis High School

Saugus High School

Pleasantville High School

Waukesha South High School

Oshkosh High School

Catholic Academy of New Haven

Bellaire High School

North Crowley High School

McAuliffe Elementary School

South Oak Cliff High School

Texas A&M University-Commerce

Sonora High School

Western Illinois University

Oxford High School

Robb Elementary School