Our children are fearful in their schools, and with good reason; many have been slaughtered in their classrooms.

Threats of mass murder, injury, and violence are ever present in our public gatherings, in our churches, and in our streets. Home invasions with entire families slain are not uncommon. We have crimes of rape, human trafficking. We have hate crimes — crimes against those of a certain race, color, religion, ethnic origin, sex orientation, physical or mental disability. We have crimes of robbery, theft, fraud, assault that often go unpunished, unreported.

Mankind’s cruelty, it seems, has no bounds. And now, with guns that can hold up to 100 rounds of ammunition, the kill and/or wound rate is massive.

Since 1966 there have been 1,694 deaths from mass shootings; total victims number 4,322. See Rockefeller Institute of Government report at https://rockinst.org/gun-violence/mass-shooting-factsheet/

The politicians, the police, our local leaders continue to assure us they are keeping us safe, that they are taking steps to make sure such mayhem can’t happen again.

We know this is not true. We never know when someone will come in firing weapons made for war, or with mayhem in their heart.

Since the Columbine shooting in 1999, there have been more than 390 school shootings, killing at least 203 and injuring 441 students, educators, and others on K-12 campuses, according to the Brady report. https://www.bradyunited.org/resources/issues/school-shootings

A Look At Two Young Killers

Adam Peter Lanza was 20 when he entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. Armed with an AR-15 and two handguns, he murdered 20 first graders and six adults.  Earlier, Adam had shot and killed his mother. Adam knew neither  love nor compassion. He was filled with hate. (Visit https:www.sandyhookpromise.org/who-we-are/about-us/our-history)

Salvador Ramos was 18 when he — on May 24, 2022 – took his AR-15 into Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, and killed 19 children and two teachers. Earlier he had shot his grandmother in the face. Salvador filled his heart with hate; he knew neither love nor compassion. (See https://cops.usdoj.gov/uvalde)

Adam escaped justice in this life through suicide. He will not, however, escape God’s justice.

Salvador was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agent. Salvador, too, will answer to God.

The 26 children and teachers who died in Sandy Hook, and the 21 who died in Robb Elementary are not the only victims of gun violence. In the past 25 years, hundreds of lives have been lost to gun violence on school grounds. More than a thousand have been injured (https://usafacts.org/articles/the-latest-government-data-on-school-shootings/). Mass shootings at churches, synagogues, community and entertainment events add to those numbers.

In year 2024, there were 145 school shootings. A timeline of school shootings may be found at https://www.security.org/blog/a-timeline-of-school-shootings-since-columbine/. (1999)

People are battered, maimed, sexually violated. Thieves steal.

We must wonder:

Why all the hate?

Where have love and compassion gone?

Perhaps God will ask Adam and Salvador, and all the other mass killers: “Who taught you to hate?” God, of course, knows. And those who practice hate through bullying, belittling, insulting; those who teach hate, revel in hate, must also answer to God. Those who applaud, stand beside the bullies and the abusers will also answer to God. For we are not born to hate. We are taught to hate. God has given us all a conscience, and we know right from wrong, good from evil. We know love is good, that hating, mistreating our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, our children, our neighbors, is wrong, is evil.

Our U.S. Representatives and Senators — most of whom claim to be Christians — could give some relief, some justice when it comes to the guns that kill so many. But far too many of them are more beholden to the gun industry than the people they serve. Strange, isn’t it, how they claim to uphold our Constitutional right to bear arms, and how they disregard other Constitutional rights that are contrary to their plan to control. The right to bear arms ensures the right to protect family, self, country. The word “gun” is not mentioned in the Constitution.

And, as long as our Congress is beholden to the National Rifle Association, and the powerful gun lobby, little can be done to stop the mass killings by guns.  Nonetheless, we can — if we have the will at the ballot box — make them accountable to us, to our children!

And there is much we can do in other ways to make life better for ourselves and those around us.