Thirty-ONEderful Charity Donation: Moms Demand Action

So here's the thing... I am a gun owner. I have my concealed carry permit. I think guns are OK to own. Being from the South, guns were part of growing up. My dad had several guns, my friends owned guns, and it was a usual Sunday activity to go out and shoot tin cans or old signs. Guns do not scare me, but I also grew up in an environment where I understood how to use them responsibly. 

HOWEVER, I think it's time that all responsible gun owners stand up for stronger gun regulations. 

On Sunday night I was in Los Angeles at dinner with colleagues after a really successful workday raising money to end hunger and poverty. (I work for a nonprofit.) It was a pretty long day, so it was a pretty late dinner as well. When I got back to the hotel and turned on the TV, every channel was covering the tragic events of a shooter in Las Vegas. 

At midnight, two people at died from this shooter. When I woke up at 5 a.m. after falling asleep with the TV on 25 people had died, and by the time I was checking out of the hotel, over 50 people died due to gun violence. It's just too much. I love outdoor concerts, music festivals, and living life. I don't want to live in a world where it becomes normal to be paranoid in large groups of people. 

That's why there has to be a better way. There has to be a middle ground to say, it's OK to own a gun, but let's just be responsible about it. I am not going to get rid of the guns we have in our home, I am not going to be afraid of them (because I understand that they are weapons, not toys), but what I  am going to do is become more vocal that we need stronger regulations. No one needs to own a fully-automatic weapon. 

In my opinion, no one should be able to walk into a gun and knife show and purchase a weapon without any sort of background check. I have to go to a doctor, then a pharmacist and have to have insurance to get birth control, but anyone can just go to a gun store (depending on the state) and buy the equipment it takes to create a fully-automatic rifle? SERIOUSLY? 

I understand if this post is a little too political for a lot of people who read this blog, and that's OK if you don't agree, or if you think all guns are good or all guns are bad. Hopefully, we can all find a middle ground to agree that we need stronger regulations, but that there are responsible gun owners out there who also agree.

Gun Violence by the Numbers: 

1. On an average day, 93 Americans are killed with guns
2. SEVEN children and teens are killed by guns in the US on an average day 
3. In an average month, 50 women are shot to death by intimate partners in the US 
4. Background checks have blocked nearly 3 MILLION gun sales to prohibited people 
5. America's gun homicide rate is more than 25 TIMES the average of other developed countries. 

So what do we do? Where do we go from here? 

We use our voices. We join causes. We show that there IS such a thing as being a responsible gun owner and believing in stronger gun regulations. 

For those of you who don't know, I turned 31 on June 5. I am calling this, "The Year of Being Thirty-ONEderful." It's about making this year... wonderful. Part of making anything wonderful in life is to give back to others where you can. So, on the 5th of each month, I am donating $31 to a charity and highlighting the work they do in a blog post.

This month, I am donating to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Here's what they do: 

• Pressuring lawmakers to improve our gun laws
• Raising awareness about gun violence
• Educating the public about common-sense gun laws and responsible gun ownership
• Mobilizing grassroots supporters
• Connecting and amplifying the voices of survivors of gun violence

Moms Demand Action supports the 2nd Amendment, but we believe common-sense solutions can help decrease the escalating epidemic of gun violence that kills too many of our children and loved ones every day.

3 Easy Things to Do to Support Gun Safety  

1. Text 'REJECT' to 644-33 to tell your member of Congress to reject the NRA's radical agenda. 
2. Join Moms Demand Action local chapter in your area. 
3. If you do own a gun, make sure it is locked, unloaded, and put away.

Thank you for reading this post. 

 Thirty-ONEderful Charity Donation:

June - Heifer International 

July - Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance 
August - Ronald McDonald House Charities of Arkansas
September - Houston Food Bank

SHARE:

Labels: 31 , charity , thirty-ONEderful