America has a problem.
We were still mourning the murder of 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh when we learned of the deaths of 13 people, including the shooter, in a country bar in Thousand Oaks, California, at the hands of an angry man with a gun.
In between those two shootings, three people, including the shooter, were killed in a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida.
Over and over again, gunmen are killing people at concerts, bars, schools, churches, synagogues. It seems no place is safe.
Colorado's not immune, with mass shootings at Columbine High School, a movie theater in Aurora and at Planned Parenthood and New Life Church in Colorado Springs.
Children died at Sandy Hook Elementary School and teenagers in Parkland, Florida.
Each time, politicians sent thoughts and prayers via social media, but refused to act, turning sympathy into a parody of itself. As the mom of a victim in Thousand Oaks said: "I don't want thoughts and prayers..."
We need action. Legislative action. Real action to control weapons that have no other purpose than to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible.
The debate isn't about rifles or shotguns or hunting. It's not about handguns for personal protection. The problem is assault weapons, bump stocks and magazines that allow people to shoot repeatedly without reloading. As one mom from Sandy Hook explained: If the shooter had needed to stop and reload more kids could have escaped. Eleven got away while he was reloading, but her 6-year-old son wasn't as lucky. The killer pumped five bullets into his small body.
We are awash in
