So far, there have been 129 mass shootings in 2023 — before we are even through the first three months. Monday there was another in a school, this time with three children and three adults killed.

Why do we accept this carnage?

We are on track to exceed 50,000 deaths from gun violence this year and probably well more than 100,000 serious injuries. But all this is acceptable, because political leaders (mostly Republican) believe any actions to address this crisis will be against the spirit and letter of the Second Amendment. When even minor actions are proposed, they say the proposals would not have prevented the latest shooting. However, well thought out rules and regulations can be effective in reducing the level of the violence.

Statistically, it is only the availability of guns that separates the United State from the other industrialized countries that don’t have this problem, but it is the politicians who “support the Second Amendment” that keep any laws or regulations from addressing it.  

The Second Amendment is part of the Constitution and must be respected, but it can also be changed. Remember, the Constitution as originally written supported slavery until the 13th Amendment eliminated it. The 18th Amendment prohibited the consumption of alcohol until the 21st Amendment repealed it.

Therefore, I am making a pledge to never, ever vote for or support a politician who supports the Second Amendment.

This doesn’t mean I seek to take your guns away, but we need to take action to prevent the carnage that continues to get worse.

I am only one vote, but if others join me, maybe ­— just maybe — some day the situation will improve.

We either need to get used to the horror of gun violence or do something about it.  

— Mike Corbett, Rome