By Mary T. Reisner
Fountain, Minn.
This is what my 13-year-old told me when she got home from school. She was still angry at her classmate who had said this. She so wanted to punch him, but another classmate also heard this statement, grabbed her arms and held her back. This happened in 1999 after the Columbine school shooting and two and half years after her father was wounded in a shooting on August 26, 1996, in Wykoff, Minn. Her father lived.
Now fast forward to 2022 and I am watching the news on another school shooting. I will admit I usually do not watch news on shootings, because it brings back memories of that day in 1996. Not all the memories are bad, we have good ones too. I truly feel for the families and friends in Texas. Praying for them for I know they have a long road ahead of them.
I know guns do not magically float and shoot someone; a person must fire that gun. But saying that, isn’t there something we can do? Yes, the Second Amendment states that we have the right to bear arms. Yes, there is a shotgun in our home, with shells to go with it. It has been passed down in my husband’s family to him. Our son has told me that he loves to hunt deer, but he would give up his rifle in a heartbeat if it would have saved his Dad this pain. If an 18-year-old can realize this, why cannot we all?
Yes, it hurts when someone shoots you!! It hurts the one wounded both physically and mentally. Why? Because their safety net is gone. Don’t I have the right to feel safe wherever I go? I am thankful that I live in a small town and feel safe here. But my husband worked in a small town also, and was shot in that town! So, at a time like this I wonder how safe I am.
We all need to feel safe; for me it is not carrying a gun to feel safe. I know I could. I also want those around me to know that carrying a gun does not mean they are safe. It is time for the people I voted for to stand up for my rights to feel safe wherever I go. It is time for change for Minnesota and the United States. We need to stand up and fight for Minnesota and the United States to feel safe. To be safe in our schools, shopping malls, grocery stores, our churches, and all the places we go.
I am praying for my Minnesota House of Representatives and Senators, also the United State Congress to make tough decisions for the people they serve.