The March for Our Lives rally in Greenville exceeded all expectations. We were to march from the Hyatt Hotel on North Main to the Westin Hotel on South Main. Although we did march, we filled Main Street from one end to the other. From somewhere near the middle, I could hear hundreds chanting, “Hey, Hey NRA! How Many Kids Did You Kill Today” way in the front, while hundreds of others were chanting, “Enough Is Enough!” way in the back. The crowd was enormous; the police were terrific; and the all the speakers, including Lee Turner who is running for Trey Gowdy’s Congressional seat, were stupendous. An hour before the march began, I found out I wouldn’t be one of the speakers. Oh well. Caught up in the optimistic hope of this day, I soon got over it. Together, with our presence with millions of protestors around the country and around the world we all raised our voices to end gun violence.
Here is the original speech I wrote for the rally, before I condensed it to be shorter:
America is addicted to guns. The number of people killed by guns in America, killed by these weapons of mass destruction, is staggering—so common-place—that unless a half-dozen or more people get shot at one time, the event doesn’t even get past the local news. And it takes a mass shooting before we even remind ourselves our country has a deadly addiction to guns.
Mass shootings and other gun deaths occur more in the United States than in any other country in the world. Why? Because we have more guns in the United States than any other country in the world. There are more guns in America than people. Guns kill people. More guns means more death.
The time has come to do something to reduce the risk of being killed by these weapons of mass destruction. Our passions are high, our determination is steadfast, but we also need to arm ourselves with facts and reasonable arguments.
Many people buy guns for protection. A gun may make you feel safer, but this feeling of security is an illusion. Owning a gun increases your odds of being killed by a gun. If you own a gun, you are three times more likely to be murdered, five times more likely to commit suicide, and four times more likely to accidentally kill someone.
First things first. The Declaration of Independence states:
All men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. That among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
The first right is Life—your right to live. Life takes priority over Liberty, just as liberty takes priority over the pursuit of happiness. The right to live is the first and foremost right, both preceding and superceding all other liberties.
You can’t have the freedom to assemble peacefully if anyone can easily shoot dozens of the people assembled. You can’t have freedom of speech if you can be assassinated for speaking out against injustice. Your right to live comes before anyone else’s right to buy any gun they want.
The first Amendment to our Constitution states:
Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech…or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Well we are here today to exercise our freedom of speech, our right to assemble, and our need to petition our government about a serious grievance: That we can be killed almost any time—in almost any place—by almost any person who can easily get his hands on a weapon of mass destruction, a deadly gun capable of killing dozens of people in just a few seconds.
Note that the first amendment precedes and supercedes the second amendment. Even so, the founding fathers had no way to contemplate any fire-arm that would be capable of killing more than one person a minute.
This rally isn’t about getting rid of the second amendment; it is about our petition to redress the government for our grievance of not be protected from mass shootings, murders, and deadly accidents.
The party in power, the Republicans, are not addressing the will of the people; they are doing the bidding of the NRA as the NRA has paid them millions of dollars to adopt inhumane gun policies that defy common sense and respect for life. Pay a Republican politician thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, and the next thing you know, these poor politicians can’t think straight and begin to believe the garbage they have been telling their constituents. As voters and potential voters we need to wake up and smell the gunpowder, and don’t buy into their self-serving B.S.
The NRA has NO REASONABLE ARGUMENTS. Politicians in the pockets of the NRA have NO REASONABLE ARGUMENTS. Donald Trump accused fellow Republicans of being afraid of the NRA right after the Parkland shootings, and then caved in to the NRA, proposing only ideas that would protect the NRA, instead of protecting the lives of American students.
If there were as many restrictions on guns as there are on our freedom of speech and freedom of assembly there would be NO automatic or semi-automatic weapons available for sale today anywhere in this country.
You aren’t here today simply because you have the right to assemble. You are here today because dozens of donors together raised $5000 to pay for our permit to have the right to speak and assemble. Allegedly, this was to pay for security, although ordinary citizens already pay for police protection with their taxes. But when Ivanka Trump came to town, did she have to pay $5000 for security for her right to speak?
Yet the $5000 fee is only one of many ordinances designed that restrict freedom of speech. Now get this, these restrictions on our freedom of speech were written to make sure protest signs are not used as weapons. Some actual examples:
– Sticks to hold a sign are prohibited.
—Sign material should not exceed 1/32” thickness.
– Signs composed of paper or poster board, may not exceed 20” x 30”
—Backpacks, satchels, and coolers exceeding 6 inches by 8 inches by 3 inches are prohibited, except if completely transparent.
This is lunacy! The police say they will enforce ordinances restricting freedom of speech and assembly by insisting a sign can’t be too thick, or be put on a stick, or be more than 600 square inches. And all this crap is because supposedly a sign can be used as a weapon. Hey I’ve got news: a gun can be used as a weapon! And used as a weapon far more effectively than a protest sign. Maybe our government should restrict guns more than freedom of speech?
You can have an automatic weapon, that’s OK, that’s fine, but you can’t assemble to petition the government without paying an exorbitant fee or carry any sign that could conceivably be used to hit someone over the head.
Of course, there needs to be legal restrictions on free speech. No one should yell “FIRE!” in a crowded theater. Slander and libel harm others, and are against the law. There should be no tolerance for hate speech or verbal bullying. Yet when it comes to the second amendment some people object to ANY sensible restrictions on gun ownership or sensible restrictions on ultra-dangerous weapons designed to maim and kill. Common sense gun laws do NOT violate the 2nd Amendment!
The NRA has NO REASONABLE ARGUMENTS. If we really want to stop mass shootings of innocent victims— if we want to live without living in fear we will be blasted away at any time or anyplace—we have to eliminate assault weapons, or anything that turns a gun into an automatic weapon. The more guns we have, the more people will die. The fewer guns we have, the fewer people will die. Anyone who tells you that the solution to mass shootings is more guns is either lying or delusional. Common sense says put first things first: get rid of the most dangerous guns, the weapons of mass destruction, so all of us can live in peace and domestic tranquility.
Now there are those who point out it is politically more popular to provide better back-ground checks. The principle behind background checks is simply the idea anyone can have a dangerous weapon except a dangerous person. The problem is, how do you know who is a dangerous person? Although it makes sense to prohibit the sale of guns to someone under twenty-one, how are we going to keep someone under twenty-one from getting a gun? Although it makes sense to prohibit the sale of guns to anyone who has committed a violent crime with a gun, how are you going to prevent them from getting a gun, or prevent the violent crime in the first place? It is easy to say we should prevent mentally ill people from owning guns, but the fact remains that so-called mentally ill people are less likely to commit violent crimes, and more likely to become victims of violent crimes.
Yet every time there is a mass shooting, using circular logic, we say the shooter must have been crazy. How do we know he was crazy? Because he used an automatic weapons in a mass shooting. Why did he shoot and kill dozens of people? Because he was crazy!
Allowing assault weapons to be legally purchased by any “ordinary” person is crazy, because you hardly ever know who is and who isn’t an “ordinary” person.
So here’s an idea that can actually work: Instead of trying to keep crazy people, or violent people, or hateful people, or unstable people, or angry people, or vengeful people from having a gun that can kill dozens of innocent victims in a matter of seconds, why allow anyone access to such weapons of mass destruction?
This isn’t just a theory. It’s a proven solution. After a horrific mass shooting in Tasmania, the Australian government took serious measures to limit guns, not limit who could own guns. As a result Australia hasn’t had a mass shooting since then. Moreover, deaths from homicides and suicides are drastically down.
So where do we go from here? First of all register to vote. Don’t buy into the lie that there isn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the Democrats and the Republicans. This only plays into the hands of those with money and influence over politicians to keep concerned citizens disenfranchised and sitting on the sidelines. Don’t buy into the lie that anyone who runs for office is dishonest or corrupt. This prevents honest candidates who are striving to make our country safer, from becoming elected.
Second, vote in the primary in June. Find out which candidates support real gun control to reduce gun violence, and which candidates are too timid to take a stand on this volatile issue. Although it is safe to say you shouldn’t vote for anyone taking money from the NRA, the position of different Democrats may vary widely on this issue. We don’t need sympathetic thoughts and prayers; we need new laws that are unlikely to be passed until we get new politicians in Congress and State legislatures.
Third, seek out the truth, learn all you can, and find out the facts. Educate yourself about guns and violence in America. When someone offers you fake news or alternative facts, be prepared with real news and scientific facts.
Finally exercise the one freedom no tyrant has succeeded in taking away: Your right to vote. Vote in November. Alone, we can do little to stop the epidemic of gun violence which is worse in America than any other country. Together, united in purpose, armed with knowledge, intelligence, and commitment, there is nothing we cannot do to make America safer again.