Rant #3,391: One Hit (To the Body)

I know I said that I would not be here today, but based on what transpired this weekend, I felt it was important for me to say something about this terrible tragedy we are all so aware of now.

We are learning more all the time about the attempted assassination of former Preident Donald Trump as he was campaigning in Pennsylvania.

This absolutely disgraceful episode demonstrates once again that our gun laws need strengthening.

It also demonstrates what a sick country--and world--we live in right now.

One more inch, and Trump might have been fatally hit.

Thank God, although shaken, Trump appears to be OK.

And what of the member of the audience who was killed, and the other audience members who were injured because a madman decided he would be judge, jury and executioner with his firearm?

Some say that Trump did not have the proper protection he should have been afforded as not only a presidential candidate, but as a former president.

Some say that only a major security breach could allow the shooter to get so close to the former president.

Some say that this attempted assassination will actually help Trump in his run against President Biden, and that his instinctive raising of a clenched fist will be used as a rallying cry for Republicans to retake the White House.

And the authorities are stating that since this incident occured, there has been an uptick in violent postings on social media.

What I am hoping is that Republicans and Democrats and all Americans come together for once, collectively looking at this incident as an attack against democracy.

We need unity now, not divisiveness.

And then, what about the weapon that was used?

It was purchased legally, but not by the shooter--

But by the shooter's father.

Again, why our society has a collective fascination with firearms is beyond my comprehension.

The political rhetoric has gone way too far on the gun issue.

The laws for owning guns need to be strengthened.

The shooter was not the gun owner, so how and why was he in the possession of his father's firearm?

Possessing a firearm that is not legally yours is something that needs to be looked fully into, and as far as I am concerned, the shooter's father is liable for this chaos his deranged son caused.

It is his gun, so he should be held fully responsible for how it is used.

And that statement does not abridge the rights of legal gun owners who take great care in the handling of their firearm(s).

We have an unfortunate history of gun-related violence, and going back to Lincoln, we have a horrid history of gun violence against presidents and presidential candidates.

Both the president and former president do agree on one thing: we all need to tone things down through November, and come together as Americans.

This "agreement" is a good first step.

Let's heed their call.

Things need to change, and they need to change right away.