Just Wait...

As I have listened to the nightmarish events from Friday unfold and then replayed on the news all weekend I continue to be shocked and saddened. Shocked that someone had the ability to hurt so many innocent children, and saddened because even the places we feel the safest no longer are. I have been to Newtown a couple of times. It is a quaint New England town, lots of trees, pretty houses, and nice people, not the place you worry about sending your kids to school.

As the events have sunk in I am also disappointed by the reactions from politicians, pundits, and even the public. I am disappointed that we have taken the opportunity to turn something so awful into a political firefight so quickly. Disappointed that Facebook is filled with people blaming President Obama, calling for a ban on guns, or pleading for every citizen to carry a weapon. So here is my plea, please let the family and community bury their children before we start debating gun control. Let the parents mourn the lost Christmases, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and grandchildren, let them mourn the lives both they and their children had planned to lead. Let the community mourn the loss of security, and the loss of innocence of the survivors. Let the country as a whole mourn the lost lives, the children that may have gone on to cure cancer, negotiate peace in the Middle East, or become the parents of the next generation. 

Let’s give the parents a minute to bury their children, pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, and find a way to keep going. If it were me, I would need a minute. I would need a minute to catch my breath, to let it sink in, and to find a way to go on. I wouldn’t need to hear how increasing gun control or allowing the teachers to carry weapons would have prevented this tragedy from happening- I would need people to recognize that it had had happened and that my life was forever changed. I agree that the issue of gun control needs to be addressed, one way or another, I think this is a debate that we should have. But I think this is a debate we can have in a few weeks. There is no one to retaliate against, the person that committed this heinous crime is already dead, and while we need to examine ways to prevent future violence, the answer isn’t going to come over night. It isn’t going to come as we debate this issue while emotions run high, this is something where cooler heads are needed, something where we can take minute, respect the families, and wait. Wait until after the holidays, after the funerals, and after the dust has settled as much as it can in this situation. So my plea, please look at this event for the moment, not as a Democrat or a Republican, not as a gun enthusiast or a pacifist, but as a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, an aunt, an uncle, a teacher, a friend, and a fellow human being.

Today, let’s mourn with the families, recognize their loss, and in a few weeks let’s work together to rebuild, pick up the pieces, and prevent, to the best of our abilities, future acts of violence.