We can't stand by as weapons devastate our society
I drove past a church sign this week that read: “Come as you are.” Of course, that open invitation was intended to mean two things: to come wearing whatever you wanted – and to come bringing your entire self.
“As I am” means something different to each of us. For me, it means being both a Jewish woman and a supporter of organizations that strive to curb gun violence.
Getting guns off the streets is impossible; that ship sailed long ago. But I pray that we will wake up to the devastation that is being caused by assault-style rifles and take control of this scourge on our society.
Like you, I am sick of hearing about people shooting other people. It is especially heart-wrenching when the victims are school children and their teachers. Mass shootings must stop. And assault type rifles? Nobody needs military grade weapons. No one.
People have all kinds of hobbies. If shooting guns at targets or hunting is a hobby of yours, that’s fine. Go ahead and do it as much as you like. I may not understand the attraction, but I also don’t understand people who take part in triathlons – or who jump out of helicopters to ski off high mountains. None of these hobbies make any sense to me whatsoever, but I am perfectly happy to let people enjoy themselves.
A certain amount of training and preparation is necessary for all of these activities. And if I need training and a license to drive a car, which can easily be a deadly weapon, then it stands to reason that people who want to use guns should abide by the same requirement.
I have never had a gun waved in my face or had a friend or family member die by gun violence. The only stories I know are the ones that we all know. But of all the evils that plague our society, the abundance of deadly weapons in untrained hands – and the nonchalant attitude toward them – is one that worries me deeply.
We can do better. We must do better. Our children deserve no less.
Rabbi Jennifer Singer is rabbi emerita of Kol HaNeshama in Sarasota and the dean of Liberal Yeshiva. She also serves as the interim rabbi of the Jewish Congregation of Venice.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Our children deserve more than inaction as weapons devastate America
