Saturday, December 15, 2012

W.H. petition to address the issue of gun control (please sign it)

I'm sure all of you out there have already heard about the shooting that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, yesterday (if you haven't, here's a report on the incident). At least a few people in the Ashtanga blogosphere have spoken up about this terrible happening. For instance, Sarah Hatcher (Durney) has written a beautiful post suggesting that we send thoughts of loving-kindness and compassion in our practices to the victims and the families of all those affected.

But we can also take action on a more practical level. Specifically, you can sign this recently created White House Petition which calls on the Obama Administration to "[i]mmediately address the issue of gun control through the introduction of legislation in Congress." The opening lines of the petition read:

"The goal of this petition is to force the Obama Administration to produce legislation that limits access to guns. While a national dialogue is critical, laws are the only means in which we can reduce the number of people murdered in gun related deaths."

This couldn't be more well-said. While it is true that the roots of violence are complex and deeply-rooted in the minds of individuals and no single law will ever suffice to bring an end to violence, it is nevertheless an undeniable fact that the easy access to guns that we have in this country makes it so much easier for people to callously end the lives of so many people with a single pull of the trigger. President Obama puts it very succinctly in his statement on the shooting when he says, "We've endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years..."


Well, I guess I've said pretty much all that I can say here. Well... wait, here's something else. If none of the above convinces you of the necessity of legislative action for gun control, consider this: If Newtown, Connecticut, which did not have any prior history of such violence and which, in the words of one parent, was supposedly one of the safest places to live in this country, could be the scene of such tragic carnage, who can guarantee that any of us will continue to be safe from such violence as we go about our daily business in any part of this country--say, as we make our daily commutes to our favorite shalas or yoga studios? Think about it... No, actually, don't think about it: Sign the petition!

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