The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14 took the lives of at least two dozen people, most of whom were children between the ages of five and ten years old. The shooter's
weapon, a .223-caliber assault rifle,
is legal for civilians to obtain.
But White House press secretary Jay Carney claims that
this is not the time to address gun control.
When
will be the time? It "wasn't the right time" in April, when James Holmes opened fire on an Aurora movie theater. It "wasn't the time" after a man shot seven people at a temple in Wisconsin. And it "wasn't the right time" just three days ago, when shoppers in a mall outside of Portland were gunned down.
The longer we wait on gun control, the more we put innocent people in danger. Americans should be able to attend worship, see a movie, or go to kindergarten without fear of being murdered.
Sign to tell President Obama:
now is the time to talk about gun control.Dear President Obama:
I'm writing to ask you to take a stand on gun control, once and for all. In your speech on Friday about the tragedy in Newtown, you said that you were heartbroken. You claimed it's "time to take action." But paying lip service to grieving Americans won't be enough to prevent children in the future from being slaughtered at the hands of gunmen.
Your press secretary, Jay Carney, claims that "this is not the time" to discuss gun control. But when will be the time? It wasn't the right time after Aurora, Wisconsin, or Clackamas. You may say it's "too soon," but in reality, for these victims, it is far too late.
President Obama, I'm writing you today to ask that you start putting your money where your mouth is on the issue of gun control. We deserve to attend worship, see a movie, or go to school without fearing for our lives. And we deserve a President who takes action to ensure that we can.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
