On the EDge: How many more lives must be lost?

October 2, 2017 Utah Channel 3

OPINION — Hell unleashed its fury late Sunday night in Las Vegas.

Another psycho, another high-powered rifle, another tragic scar on humanity’s tattered soul.

The massacre that took place in Las Vegas Sunday night was unprecedented, of proportions so outrageous, so startling, so frightening that it is beyond comprehension.

And, it occurred in our backyard, perpetrated by a guy who was our neighbor.

The shooter is from Mesquite, just down the road.

The shooting took place in Las Vegas, where so many of us have visited to shop, dine, enjoy a weekend of world-class entertainment to bring joy to our lives.

Except, there was no joy Sunday night as a large crowd gathered for a country music festival on a clear, clean October night.

So far, we have heard the typical responses from the shooter’s brother:

He was just a guy.

He would never harm a fly.

He had no political affiliation.

He had no religious affiliation.

He never even had a parking ticket.

He went on cruises.

He sent his mother cookies.

There is probably nothing in this guy’s background that would have indicated that this would happen, that would have prevented him from purchasing his weapons and the massive amount of ammunition required to kill and wound so many people so efficiently, so quickly, so unexpectedly.

It just makes no sense.

But, it never makes sense. We never quite come to grips with what makes somebody come unhinged to the point of taking human life. As diverse as we are in our political and moral structures, the one thing I think – I hope – runs through us all is the value we place on human life.

We have seen this horror too frequently, had our spirits crushed by the senseless acts of cowardice by a nut job with a gun.

Only this time, it becomes more personal because it happened in our backyard.

Let me underscore that: IT HAPPENED IN OUR BACKYARD!

Not that it matters to those who died, to those wounded or clinging to life by a fragile thread, or to their families, friends and loved ones.

Still, I keep seeing the words: “This was just too close to home,” as if that makes a difference.

Just so you know, it doesn’t.

Wherever this would have occurred would have been too close to home.

Being reasonable people, we simply cannot wrap our arms around this.

We want to know why this happened and, of course, at this point it is merely speculation. The answer was forever silenced when the gunman turned his weapon upon himself and took his own life.

Meanwhile, once again, there is blood in our streets, anguish in our hearts as this epidemic of violence escalates beyond all reason.

The headlines will drive home the fact that this is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history and we will contemplate the grim numbers. Overlooked are the husbands, the wives, the children, the friends, neighbors, co-workers who perished because somebody thought it was their time to die.

They had hopes, they had dreams.

They loved and were loved.

But, that all ended in the glare of a muzzle flash from the 32nd floor hotel room of a lunatic who unleashed his well-thought plan to execute innocent souls who had gathered for a music festival.

It won’t be long before we are told not to politicize this insanity, to let some time pass and then have that conversation when cooler heads prevail.

As always, that conversation will never, ever take place because by then, the horror will have abated and we will be on to the next news bite that overtakes the next news cycle.

But, heaven forbid we confront this demon while our blood is still hot with anger and disbelief, while the losses are still heavy in our hearts.

Today is the day to begin that conversation, to come up with a way to ensure this never happens again.

That discussion should not begin with a preamble about moral decay, man has been among the most vicious predators to roam the planet. We just have better, more deadly tools today than we had a hundred, a thousand years ago.

But, we also, as a species, have the capacity for love and kindness; the yearning for good and light; the collective intelligence to discern right from wrong as the stakes continue to rise in this fight between good and evil.

Instead of looking for somebody or something to blame, we need to look for a solution. Placing blame is always easier than accepting the responsibility that we have allowed the circumstances that made this massacre possible.

Congress is currently considering a measure that would make it easier to purchase a gun silencer.

Why?

We know that the genie is out of the bottle and we may never remove deadly weapons from our streets, but what about access to ammunition? Why are we not keeping tabs on how much ammunition or reloading product a person purchases. Our technology is such that we can, if we wish, keep track of how many Oreos a person purchases, why not ammunition? This guy had to have nearly 1,000 rounds of ammunition to produce so much carnage. Where did he purchase it? Why didn’t it raise some eyebrows?

And, why are we arming ourselves so heavily?

Clearly, a concealed carry permit would have offered no way to save one life in that concert crowd in Las Vegas Sunday night. A good citizen with a legal carry permit could not have gotten to the room and gone through that door quick enough to stop the killing.

The police needed an explosive device to take down the door and enter the room.

A moment of silence will no longer suffice.

A time of national mourning will not end the slaughter.

It is time, now, to begin that discussion on how to end the killing.

This is not the time to stifle or deflect that discussion, as has been suggested. We have done that repeatedly to no avail.

It is time to uncouple those leaders who would silence this discussion, deflect it, put it off because they capitulate to the special interests that fund their campaigns and perpetuate their roles in government rather than standing for humanity.

We can no longer just chalk it up to the act of a lone nut with a gun. That is avoidance in its most extreme, denial of the problem.

There is only one solution.

You know it.

I know it.

To deny it leaves you with blood on your hands.

Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Email: edkociela.mx@gmail.com

Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela