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I've drafted a letter (pasted below) that Bobby and I are sending to elected officials regarding yesterday's tragedy. If you agree with me, feel free to copy my letter and put your name on it. If you don't agree, but have something to say, write your own letter and send it to your elected officials. Christina Hall Davis
Dec. 15, 2012
Dear ,
I am writing this letter to draw your attention to two very important issues that must be addressed by elected leaders such as yourself: our nation’s woefully inadequate mental health system and its inept gun control laws.
I need not tell you what prompted this letter. You too were horrified by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred on Dec. 14 in a Connecticut elementary school. But sadly this incident is not isolated. We have all borne witness to mass shooting after mass shooting over the last decade. I was never moved to action until Dec. 14. And for that I am profoundly sorry. I am letting you, along with elected officials throughout this nation, know that I will not stand for inaction when it comes to mental health and gun control reforms. I will only vote for people that support reform in these areas.
We are pretending that we live in a civilized society, but what kind of society has these types of unspeakable horrors occur again and again and again and again and does nothing? There is nothing civilized about us as long as we continue to ignore the problem.
Here's what I want. I want to live in a community where I can send my child on a school bus and feel at peace. I want to leave my doors unlocked when I go to bed at night. I want to walk into a dark movie theater and just think about the popcorn I'm going to eat. That's the community I want. It's not too much to ask.
To have that kind of community, I believe we need to reform our gun laws to make it harder for people with severe mental illness to obtain a weapon that can kill a classroom full of children in seconds. I don't want to ban all guns. I don't want to stop people from carrying guns. I just want it to be a little more difficult for someone who is unbalanced to get a gun and multiple rounds of ammunition. That's all. I realize it will be challenging to form policies that balance the needs of our community, but it can be done. We just have to try.
I also want us to take care of the mentally ill in our communities. We closed down our institutions because they were worse than prisons. But we failed to provide a safety net for these members of society, who are the most fragile and the most at risk, and we don’t support their families.
From now on, I will not stay silent when someone says we don't need to reform our gun laws. From now on, I won’t vote for anyone who is not outspoken on both mental health and gun control. Our laws are broken. Our community is broken. These gunmen are giving us a powerful and clear message. If we don’t act, we are complicit in the violence.
We can't keep going like this any longer. Something needs to change. We need to change. The first step is legislation. It’s now your turn to act.
Sincerely,
Christina H. Davis Robert C. Davis III
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