A hard subject to talk about.

Gun Violence

I'm going to be diverging from what this blog is supposed to be about for a subject that is more dire. Something that needs to be heard. Something that needs to be changed. In this post, I'm going to share my experiences with gun violence to raise awareness and let you know that gun violence is a crime more common than anyone can ever imagine. It can happen to anyone.

I've decided to write this post on this day, April twentieth, because it is the anniversary of the Collumbine Massacre, and we are talking about it at school. Every period, we name two students, and eventually the one teacher who was shot in this tragedy. We then have a moment of silence as remembrance of this terrible day.

In this post, I will write about my experiences with gun violence, and my opinions on what we can do to change the terrible goings on with guns in schools and in the community.

I had a very good friend, who is going to remain unnamed out of respect. This friend was trans. She was originally a male, who was transitioning into a female. She worked at a bar in Deep Ellum, and one night, after she got off of work, she took the employee exit, which led into the alleyway behind the bar, out of the building.

And someone was waiting for her. She was cornered in the alley, and shot because she was trans. Her killer was never found. Whoever her killer was could still be walking free today, despite this terrible crime committed.

It affected me greatly. I mourned for days after I found out. But I tried my hardest to keep my mourning a secret so no one would know the terrible thing I was going through, and the horrors that she suffered with.

It hurt so much, and whenever I see a gun walk, or a walk out at school, or see something like this on the news, I think about her. It still hurts today, and I know it will never stop hurting. It will get easier, eventually. But it will never stop hurting.

I lost someone precious that day, and suddenly the issue of gun violence became a terrible reality for me. Suddenly, realisation struck me, and I knew how serious this issue is today. And how sensitive this topic is for so many people.

My friend one day texted me saying "A boy was shot at school in a hate crime." I don't know if he was gay, trans, black, whatever. All I know was that it was a hate crime. His killer, however, was caught, and that brought me some clarity. However, this was before my friend was shot, and the topic wasn't as sensitive. I understood that someone had been shot in a hate crime, but I didn't understand. I knew, but it didn't quite register in my brain, ya know? Things like that, they're hard to understand. It's easy to sympathise, but it's hard to empathise until it's happened to you. It's easy to say "I'm sorry," but, unless it's happened to you, you can't really say "I understand."

I'm not an obsessive gun control girl. I don't think guns should be banned all across America. Sometimes you need a gun. What if there's an armed robbery at your house? What are you supposed to do? Just sit back and let the robber kill you and loot your house? You need to protect yourself. You need to protect you, your husband or wife if you have one, your children if you have any.

As for gun laws? I think we need better ones. I live in Texas, so these are the gun laws here. As for gun laws in other states, I do not know what they are, and how strict they are. So the gun laws I will be speaking for are those in Texas. "Generally speaking, in Texas, as long as you're of age [eighteen] and can pass the background check, you can buy a gun." This is a quote from Justin Sparks, said to Fox News the Monday after the shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Spring, Texas.

A link to an article on gun laws and gun violence in Texas

Additionally, a felon cannot own a gun. However, five years after they've served, as long as they have a clean record afterwards, they are allowed to once again own a gun.

As for those considered 'Mentally Ill,' they are not allowed to buy a gun. But how they decide whether or not someone is mentally stable enough to hold a gun, I do not know. As of this current moment, there is no disclosure of mental health records, so there is no way to know if someone is stable or not. How do they decide it? A psych eval? That's not very reliable. People can easily lie about their mental health. Someone can easily give false answers in a psych evaluation. Someone can easily cover up any self-harm wounds with makeup, if those even have any bearing on whether or not you can buy a gun.

If you get a dishonourable discharge in the army, you are also prohibited from buying a gun of any kind. However, being discharged on bad conduct does not trigger the law, and you can still buy a gun.

In light of my research on all of Texas' gun laws, I do believe our laws are somewhat...lacking. I believe that if you're convicted of a felony, you should not be allowed to own a gun at all no matter how long you're out of prison with a clean record. If you're a felon, you should not be able to have a gun. Period. No ands, buts, and ors. If you are a felon, owning a gun should be illegal. Period.

As for mental stability, I believe that psychiatrists should have to disclose your hospital records, your mental health records, and the medications you take. I also believe that counselors should have to release information about their patient if they're looking to buy a gun. There should be more gun laws regarding mental illness. If you are mentally ill, you should not be able to own a gun.

Now let's talk about the military discharges. I agree that if you were dishonourably discharged, owning a gun should be illegal. However, I also believe that being discharged on bad conduct should also have some limits to owning a gun. Perhaps not illegal for all those who were discharged on bad conduct. Bad conduct can be something as simple as disobeying someone of a higher position too often or starting a riot. I think that if you were discharged on bad conduct, it should be illegal to own a gun, but only if you were discharged for violence.

Texas gun laws are, in my opinion, seriously lacking. I don't believe in making guns illegal for everyone. I just think we need to tweak them. A lot. Maybe then we wouldn't have so much gun violence. I don't think guns should be illegal altogether. I just believe we should have stricter gun laws.

I know how terrible it is to lose someone you love to gun violence. I want everyone to know that if you've lost someone, my heart goes out to you, and anyone who has lost someone by gun violence. This was truly a hard post to type. It took hours to write.

I want everyone reading this post to understand that gun violence is a crime so much more common than one would like to believe. It can happen to anyone. One moment, you can be going about your day, and nothing is wrong. And just a couple hours later, you're mourning the loss of someone involved in gun violence. Whether it's a hate crime, a school shooting, or any other type of crime involving firearms, just know that my heart goes out to you and your family.

I know it's hard to think about this topic, and it was even harder to write about it. But this has to be said. Things like this, issues that are impacting our entire country, have to be addressed. There was a walk out at school today. Several people left. Only about three people made it past the teachers bombarding every student who stepped foot outside of their classroom. I don't know how else to raise awareness about this awful issue. But it needs to be said, so I'm saying it here.

I love you all, my sweeties. Thank you for reading this post. I hope it did at least something for you. I'm not sure how to wrap this post up, so I'll just end it here, with one more I love you.