New Jersey: Open Letter Regarding Mass Shooting In Uvalde, Texas

HARRY HURLEY OPINION - EDITORIAL

We must first properly grieve for the many families, whose lives were shattered yesterday when an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

This is not a political issue for anyone to try and exploit. That is the absolute wrong and destructive approach to take. We must collectively reject any and all attempts to politicize this tragedy.

This is a human issue. We must be there for each other.

In this writing, a reported 19 students and two teachers, as well as the gunman are dead.

Conflicting media reports say that the gunman’s grandmother (who he apparently shot first) is either dead or in critical condition.

Yesterday’s mass shooting is the second-worst in American history, behind only Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.

We need to open up a uniquely important New Jersey and national discussion to address this and previous tragic incidents.

It has thus far proven to be next to impossible … but, we must find a way to remove any and all politics from this discussion, or, there will be no successful path available to try and solve this national emergency.

The past two mass shooters (Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022) and yesterday in Uvalde, Texas, were both 18-year-olds.

Yesterday’s attack occurred just 10 days after the deadly, racist rampage at a Buffalo, New York supermarket.

My suggestion is for all people of good faith to begin an appropriate dialog together. We must establish strict ground rules:

Don’t blame:

The 2nd Amendment to The Constitution
Gun Manufacturers
Gun Lobby
Politics of any kind

If we can establish sincere rules of positive engagement, then perhaps an open, intellectually honest conversation can take shape.

Let’s focus on things that we can all agree with:

No one wants innocent citizens in public, or, children, teachers, and supportive staff members in schools to ever be hurt or killed.
Can we agree on certain operating standards (to be determined)?
In our schools, designate one strictly enforced entrance/exit for schools.

Yesterday’s mass shooter was wearing body armor and reportedly crashed his vehicle before entering Robb Elementary School.

A video confirms that he was easily able to enter the elementary school.

The Robb Elementary School is now closed and it was announced by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that it is closed for the rest of the current school year.

This adds to a many-years-long series of mass shootings at churches, schools, stores, and other locations.

Yesterday, today, and going forward, parents and grandparents will hug their children even tighter than ever before.

I spoke with my adult children about this yesterday. To gauge how they were feeling. I posed the question, “Is this our country, now?” “Are we going to just accept that this is going to happen from time to time?” “Or, are we … as a community and nation going to take appropriate corrective action?"

We can not solve this in any one article, or, anyone radio talk show. But, we can decide to begin a process, with a stated goal of working towards a solution.

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack against our country, our national elected leaders got together (put politics aside) and created a new Department of Homeland Security.

No foreign enemy has succeeded in another terrorist attack on American soil in more than 21 years.

Together, we must find a solution to domestic terrorism, of course, without infringing upon American civil liberties, which are sacred.

We are the greatest nation in the history of the world. When we are united, we can accomplish anything.

That's why we are The United States of America.

Let’s earn this profound name and Republic that we have been given and get to work to solve this problem.