31 Dec

A Time to Mourn

Lissa Coffey

Lissa Coffey

Lissa Coffey

I can’t focus.  I can’t work.  All I can do at the moment is think about the children we lost, the families who are in such pain, the senselessness of the shooting that occurred this morning at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

This could have been any school, any place.  This could have been any of us.  And really, they are us.  We are all connected, and we feel the suffering, we can’t help it.  These children are our children, we feel the loss, we mourn the loss of their presence in the world, and the promise of what might have been.

Every time one of these tragedies occur, and it is devastating that we have any of these tragedies at all, people rally around and express their support of more strict gun control laws.  And yet, time goes by, and nothing more happens.  Until we have another senseless tragedy.  We need change NOW.  I think that President Obama expressed it very well in his response to the country.  It’s not about politics.  It’s about people.  We need to protect each other not with weaponry, but with kindness, with peace, and yes, with laws that look at a victim’s rights, not the perpetrator’s rights. I also feel strongly that we need better access to mental health care.  Many insurance policies don’t recognize mental health as a concern, the coverage is nominal.  But as we see in cases such as this, the consequences are far-reaching.  

We need to talk about these things.  Not just in the moment, but as the days go on, until something is done, until we get the changes in place that we so desperately need.  

So today we mourn.  We take a moment to pause and remember these sweet faces, the loving teachers, parents, and administrators who work with our children daily.  We can not understand the why of this situation.  But we can bring our hearts together and be in it together.  Our strength will lift us up, and take us to a better, brighter, more hopeful place.

My friend Mallika Chopra posted some links to petitions on her blog.  If you feel so compelled, and want to take action, this is one thing that you can do to make some sort of a difference during this difficult time:

http://signon.org/sign/ban-assault-weapons.fb23?source=s.fb&r_by=6380340 https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/immediately-address-issue-gun-control-through-introduction-legislation-congress/2tgcXzQC http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/546/934/954/?cid=fb_lg_guncontrol
 

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