Perspective on Gun Violence in America and What You Can Do About It

My heart goes out to each and everyone of you today as I reflect on the mass shootings in America that are front and center on the news, in our conversations, and on our hearts following the deadliest shooting in over a decade on Tuesday this week in Texas, the horrific shooting in Buffalo, NY at a grocery store last weekend, and the unimaginable shooting on the NYC subway this past Sunday of a man (who worked at Goldman Sachs) going to meet a friend for brunch.

During our BNI Elevate meeting yesterday, I offered members the following Philanthropy Report below and encouragement that there are things you can do for yourself, your family, and in our society to raise the conversation on gun violence in America and how to reduce it, control it, and hopefully eliminate the ability for these shootings to continue in our neighborhoods, schools, and country.

Here is what I said and what I shared. I share it with you, my Facebook family and friends and colleagues from my whole heart:

PERSPECTIVE...

The number of:

High School shootings = 135

College shootings = 53

Middle School shootings = 25

Private Academy shootings = 22

Religious School/Abbey shootings = 3

Amish One-Room Schoolhouse shootings = 1

Law School shootings = 1

Pre-School shootings = 1

School bus shootings = 3

These are at schools with names you've never heard of and those you know well from coast to coast including:

- M.I.T.

- USC and UCLA

- Virginia Tech

- Ohio State

- Florida State

- University of Texas

- Wake Forest

...and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School where our own Cliff Schneider (one of our members) graduated high school.

I know many of you are parents of children in any one of these school groups. Maybe you're not. Maybe you're the aunt or uncle of them, like I am.

134 kids under age 11 were killed this year alone in 2022, so far.

Today is Day 147 of 2022.

There have been 212 shootings reported this year, so far.

That's more shootings than days in the year.

In the last week, there have been shootings in Buffalo, NY, Uvalde, TX, and on the NYC subway, where a random man who worked at Goldman Sachs was innocently traveling on a subway to brunch on Sunday. A man he didn’t know took out a gun and shot him straight through the chest.

Tuesday's shooting was America’s deadliest in a decade.

Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut, where the Newtown and Sandy Hook school shootings occurred more than a decade ago, the worst shooting in the U.S. asked, "What are we doing?" furiously on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.

Maybe you are asking the same question today. Maybe you asked it yesterday when the news first hit, and maybe you are still waking up with it today.

Parents awakened on Wednesday, yesterday, today, and will every day forward to the disaster and disbelief that their children have been shot and are gone. Families destroyed.

On Tuesday, parents were asked to swab their cheeks so the authorities could match their DNA with the children who were shot and dead so they could properly identify them.

If you are disturbed by all this, you are not alone.

There are things you can do.

1) Take extra good care of yourselves and your children.

2) Get any support you and your family members need to process what’s happening around us right now in this country.

3) Call/write your senators and congressional representatives to let them know how you feel.

Here is the link I spoke about to contact the White House and your federal and local representatives and elected officials.

LINK: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials

Remember: You pay them. We pay them. They work for us. Help them do a better job.

Tell them. Tell THEM how you feel, how your children feel, and what you want to see change in this country. It is not only up to them. It is up to you to speak up and tell them how to represent your thoughts, feelings, needs and wants in the society you live in and raise your children in here in our beloved country.

Let them know that banning assault rifles and demanding background checks before any person can be allowed to purchase a gun of any type are reasonable measures to put into laws that protect you and your family and every citizen in this nation of ours.

(You can simply copy and paste what I have written above into your message to your elected officials.)

This is not isolated to whether you are of any particular political affiliation. Republican, Democrat, Independent or otherwise, I promise you if we continue to allow this violence to continue, the shooter won't wait to determine if you are Republican, Democrat, Independent, Asian-American, African-American, Jewish, Amish, Catholic, Indian, or any other affiliation as people or parents of your children. Sadly, the shooter will shoot them, just the same.

4) There are many anti-gun violence organizations you can inquire about.

You can find the many organizations out there to find out how to join them if you wish to add your voice to theirs to make change in the gun control laws in this nation.

One of these organizations I highly recommend (that I belong to) is:

https://Everytown.com: We are a movement of more than 8 million moms, mayors, survivors, students, and everyday Americans working to end gun violence.

5) Read articles that provide information about how to help in these individual incidents like this one from Inc. Magazine about 6 Ways to Help the Texas Victims and stop gun violence.

Link: https://www.inc.com/brit-morse/uvalde-texas-school-shooting-support-help-victims-stop-gun-violence.html

Tuesday was the second bloodiest shooting since Sandy Hook.

Our innocent lives are at stake - not just our children; all of our lives.

Please take excellent care of yourselves and each other — and speak up where you feel you can be heard and make a difference.

The time is now, more than ever, to pay attention and speak up. Now.

Thank You :-D.

Wishing you and yours a very safe and happy Memorial Day weekend <3.

Warmly with Gratitude and Grace,

~ Jennifer S. Wilkov