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Letter to the Editor: Connecting Dots

The other day I submitted a letter about connecting the dots between water quality issues and elected officials. That is still a very good idea. However, we must be ever vigilant when it comes to dot connecting. Let’s keep connecting the dots between public policy and elected officials. 

Recently our nation commemorated D-Day. A remarkable day in United States History to be sure. But, between Jan. 1, 2019 and April 28, 2019 more Americans died from gun violence than died in action on D-day. Take a moment to consider that. Visualize an image of Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Then visualize students, co-workers, spouses, church members walking on that beach and being cut down – but for absolutely no reason other than the fact that the shooters had access to weapons.

So, we have some more dots to connect and once again the picture that emerges tells a compelling story – if we take the time to look at it. Gun violence would not happen without guns (That’s a dot). Elected officials have refused to enact meaningful common-sense legislation to reduce access to guns (a dot) and consequently reduce gun violence (another dot). Finally, voters have elected these gun violence supporting politicians over and over (a real big dot).

More than 2,500 Americans, possibly more than 5,000 American families have been victims of gun violence since New Year’s Day. Yet we apparently can’t connect dots between these tragedies, who we elect, and the actions they fail to take. When the complete gun violence dot-to-dot picture emerges neither hunters nor the 2nd Amendment are in the picture. We are.

D-day was a day of purposeful heroism and tragedy. The first four months of 2019 have been days of greedy gun lobbyists, inaction, and tragedy. When are we as family members, as neighbors, as voters, as citizens going to connect these dots, look at the picture and see that we have a responsibility to change the picture we are looking at?

Mike Brodd

Sister Bay, Wisconsin