The Women of Providence in Collaboration support the LCWR statement about the mass shooting in Ulvade, Texas and join with others who say “Enough is Enough”!  Our hearts are broken at the loss of innocent children’s lives as well as the brave teachers who died trying to protect them.  

The LCWR statement made on Wed, 2022-05-25 15:56 by asanders

“Our hearts and prayers go out to those parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, and uncles who lost their precious children and to all who have been touched by the massacre at Robb Elementary School.

Unfortunately, their heartbreak has become all too familiar to students, teachers, and parents across this country. The Washington Post reports that since the attack at Columbine High School in 1999, nearly 300,000  have been on campus during a school shooting. In 2020 firearm related injuries surpassed automobile accidents as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Where is the outrage? How many more children are we willing to sacrifice?

We mourn with the people of Uvalde even as we continue to grieve for those lost to gun violence in Laguna Park, Buffalo, Parkland, Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Orlando, San Bernardino, Charleston, Newtown, Columbine, and in countless other cities and towns across this nation.  We mourn the senseless killing made easy by the proliferation of guns and the pervasive culture of violence which plague our communities.

While there is much to grieve, we know that mourning is not enough. Prayers and condolences, as important as they are, are not enough.

It is well past time that our elected officials stopped listening to the gun lobby and heeded the cries of the people of this nation. It is well past time that we enacted sensible gun violence prevention legislation.

The Leadership Conference of Women Religious calls on Congress to immediately take up legislation that:

• requires universal background checks and mandatory waiting periods for all gun purchases;
• bans civilian ownership of high-capacity weapons and magazines; and
• provides funding to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct public health research on firearm violence prevention.

We pledge to stand with all who seek to put an end to the epidemic violence in our land and to follow the path of peace.  Let us never doubt that the deep darkness of these days can be overcome by the radiant light of our lives and actions lived in love.

Cardinal Cupich also had this to say, which WPC also supports: 

In an unusually long and forceful statement, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said “America is awash in guns. We have more firearms than people.”   “As I reflect on this latest American massacre, I keep returning to the questions: Who are we as a nation if we do not act to protect our children? What do we love more: our instruments of death or our future?,” he continued. 

“The Second Amendment did not come down from Sinai. The right to bear arms will never be more important than human life. Our children have rights too. And our elected officials have a moral duty to protect them,” Cupich concluded.

To date in 2022, there have been at least 77 incidents of gun fire on school grounds in the United States.

When is enough enough?  The gun lobby is a powerful and influential organization.  But at some point their “rights” should not overshadow the safety of human life.  As the Congressman from Connecticut said in a speech before Congress, “who are we as a nation, and why are we here?”

Barbara McMullen, CDP