Jumaane D. Williams
As of present reporting the shooting at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas has left 27 dead and 24 injured.
We are here again, as we morbidly knew we would be and frighteningly know we will be again all too soon.
My heart, my prayers of peace and comfort, genuinely go out to the friends and family members of those shot and killed….in church, a place so many of us spent the day worshipping.
Last week, Donald Trump and his willing Republican accomplices responded to the horrific terrorist attack in New York City by immediately attacking an immigration program and those who support it, reconsidering policy and pouncing on political rivals, while at the same time stating this is not the time to be political. I wonder if this, the 377th mass shooting of a year that has already seen over 13,000 people killed with guns and nearly 27,000 injured, will see them use the same logic as it applies to common sense gun control.
The assumption would have to be an emphatic no. This is because the man in the White House, and those who embolden him, base their policies solely on bigotry, selfishness and buffoonery, with no regard on the actual health, safety and forward movement of this country.
Until the National Rifle Association’s (NRA’s) diabolical stranglehold on this Congress is released, all of those prayers that are not backed by any action are hollow and meaningless.
One day, maybe, we can do more than send well wishes to those who are killed as so many choose to do nothing. Today, that day seems to remain tragically distant.
New York City Council Member Jumaane D. Williams represents the 45th Council District in Brooklyn.
