I wrote a year ago, in the wake of another mass shooting, that your church is not a safe space. I know many synagogues knew this even before the last few years saw a rise in antisemitism and actual Nazis marching in the streets. We cannot fix this with more punishment after the fact. And we cannot fix this with more police in everyone's house of worship. Or the grocery store. The Kroger shooting got a little less coverage because there was so much violence to choose from last week, but let's talk about how when the shooter tried to access a nearby church where the congregation is predominately Black. (Warning: That link contains a photo of the shooter which I do not think shooters deserve. I could not find a link without one sadly.)
So, securing our places of worship, making them hard to enter, which is counter to their very purpose, is not the solution. People who want to kill lots of people will still do it. And we cannot secure all the places. Nothing we can do can make it so no one ever encounters no one who might cause harm. But, we can work to level the playing field. I have just about wrapped up my voting research for the mid-term elections. I am voting for folks who want less of this. Whether that's with smaller or less guns, pricier bullets, better health care and minimum wage, and more speaking out against the various flavors of bigotry that many elected officials claim they can keep spouting with no ill effects, I hope you will do the same if you are of voting age.
And of course, I will continue to volunteer, to organize, and to assist others working towards these goals.
