Florida State Mass Shooting Becomes ‘Just Another Day’ in Today’s America'

I don’t know how many articles I have written about America’s most embarrassing and mostly preventable shame, and I don’t want to know the number. Our nation continues to suffer from domestic terrorism with more mass shootings than days on the calendar. It is an undeniable fact that our corrupt and incompetent government is not interested in this unnecessary loss of life. This situation happens so frequently only the most sensational of these unnecessary events are reported on the nightly “news.”

The shootings occur at every venue imaginable: in places I could have never imagined 40 years ago. I will never forget the hours I spent on December 14, 2012 during the unimaginable tragedy which was taking place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Parents who had dropped off their small children at school that morning learned that 20 of them would never come home. Six educators were murdered attempting to protect the most innocent victims imaginable.

In October of 2017, 58 Americans were slaughtered by a single gunman at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. About 500 suffered wounds as one man armed with 12 assault rifles, converted into automatic weapons with “bump stocks,” randomly attacked everyday citizens enjoying an evening of music, comradery, and laughter.

Then in November, 2017, a lone gunman murdered 26 and wounded 22 men, women, and children in a small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. What had these people done to deserve death at the hands of a lone gunman armed with an assault rifle?

This is the new, devolved United States of America.

Ten percent of all American people own 90 percent of the guns legally purchased. Most Americans support a ban on assault weapons and the high-output magazines used to make them weapons designed with the sole purpose of killing other human beings. However, the “Republican Party,” is partially owned by gun manufacturers and gun sellers who are represented by the NRA: a lobby.

Republicans are well known for their “thoughts and prayers,” and for doing nothing with the exception of accepting campaign funds from the NRA.

On Thursday, a beautiful Spring day on the campus of Florida State University, a number of students were gathered near the student union building. The atmosphere, filled with lively conversation and laughter, suddenly came to a halt when the sound of gunfire disturbed the normal event occurring on college campuses across America. Young men and women began to run towards locations which would protect them from the melee.

The tragedy ended when the 20-year-old shooter was shot and captured by the authorities. Two students were dead, and six injured. Just another day in our gun crazed nation.

Statistics recently reported that tourism from other nations is down by an average of 17 percent this spring. The factors are obvious, and will never be truthfully reported by the mainstream media.

The fact that the United States is the most dangerous nation in the world in the 21^st century is undeniable. Add to this a second illegitimate Trump presidency, composed of fascist and destructive policies, the same plans suggested by the right-wing fascist manifesto, Project 2025. The 922 page document was composed with the use of words and ideas offered by Trump during his heinous and hate-filled rallies since 2015.

Like all fake Republicans, Trump owes a part of his illegitimate victory to the NRA and its members.

I admit that I do not own a gun and probably never will. The only time I used a weapon of mass destruction on a regular basis was during my time in the USAF. We were taught to shoot .30 caliber carbines: weapons which are used by members of the Air Force stationed at America’s embassies. I received an expert marksmanship ribbon. I have never had an occasion to fire any type of weapon since.

I am not opposed to responsible gun ownership or gun use. However, this privilege must be carefully monitored and even restricted as proven by my recent accounts of domestic terrorism from above.

In 1976, the National Rifle Association reversed its position on gun safety and responsible ownership, opting for a position which would increase its own revenue immensely.

A perfect example of how a once great institution became a greedy, profit-motivated danger to the safety of our nation’s people.

Prior to 1976, the NRA offered free pamphlets with ways to make keeping a weapon in your home safe for everyone, especially children.

The steps were simple and foolproof. If you decided to keep a gun in your home, the weapon should be unloaded and locked in a childproof container or drawer. The ammunition should be kept in a separate locked storage area.

Today, the NRA suggests that the weapon should be kept fully loaded with the safety on: nothing else.

Each year an estimated 300 children are killed of kill someone else with the use of a loaded handgun. There are no official records.

Finally, no one has a need to own a military style weapon. These deadly devices have a single purpose: to kill as many humans as possible in the shortest period of time. The Second Amendment has no provision preventing the restriction of ownership of these weapons of mass destruction. And yet the NRA opposes a ban on any weapons or attachments which make them deadlier.

I’m sure Republicans will once again offer their thoughts and prayers for the victims and their families involved in the Florida States shooting, and nothing else.

Op-ed by James Turnage

If you follow my blog, you will be an informed citizen

Sources: https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/18/us/student-voices-fsu-shooting-gun-violence/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-state-university-active-shooter/