i’m tired of thoughts and prayers

saader:

Your thoughts and prayers aren’t enough. 

Keep them.

Without them, you feel helpless, don’t you.

Good.

That’s what it’s like to go head to head with an AK-15, the gun that was used both in Orlando and Newton. You are helpless. Maybe some goddamn empathy with the victims will lead to some actual gun reform in this country. 

Imagine being in their shoes. Imagine being 5 and going to kindergarten and finding yourself looking up the barrel of an automatic weapon, a weapon of mass destruction. Imagine going out to a club, to one of the only venues in which you can feel free to be exactly who you are without judgement and fear of homophobia, imagine that place destroyed before your very eyes. It’s terrifying. And it could happen to anyone. After Sandy Hook we said never again. And then we let 998 mass shootings happen. The United States of America, the only country in the world where mass shootings are everyday. Aren’t you proud of us?

Thoughts and prayers are not enough. And that sentence has been perverted by the congressmen and senators who will only offer their thoughts and prayers and little else by way of substance in the legislature. So what is enough? It will be enough when you’re shocked to hear about a shooting, that’s how infrequent they are. Look at Canada. Look at Australia. 

We need to do better.

Write your congressman and tell them how this is UNACCEPTABLE. Find out which of your elected representatives takes donations from the NRA. If you’re in the Orlando area, donate blood and plasma. AND WHEN NOVEMBER ELECTIONS COME, VOTE FOR THE REPRESENTATIVES THAT OPPOSITE GUNS AND THE NRA: ontheissues.org

This election could be the turn of the tide. If an anti-gun majority can take the House and Senate, I believe we have a real shot at REAL, PERMANENT reform. People say that if we couldn’t do it after Newtown, we’ll never be able to make real gun reform in the Unites States. 

So keep your thoughts and prayers. What we need to do is prove to the world that they’re wrong about us. We need to prove to ourselves that they’re wrong about us. Vote, donate, let your voice be heard. Register to vote if you haven’t already. When you’re done with all that, hug your loved ones tight and appreciate what many families and friends and loved ones are no longer able to do.