Something needs to change with accessibility to guns

I'm done! I'm done supporting gun rights. Yes, me and my husband hunt and we have several shot guns safely locked away, but if having these guns means allowing psychos who want to kill people to have guns too, I'm willing to give them up. 

Something needs to change in this country. I can't believe that mass shooting have become common place and some of the targets have been the most innocent, children. I have now begun to fear for my own family's safety. Below is a letter I sent to Heidi Heitkamp and my other senator/rep. I urge you to write to your representatives in Congress and let them know how you feel about this issue. The gun lobby can't keep blaming mental health and we can't continue to be complacent. Action needs to be taken and out voices heard. 

Dear Heidi Heitkamp,

Enough is enough with this gun violence. I am a supporter of gun rights, I really am, but the recent mass shooting in San Bernardino has put me over the edge. Our country has experienced so many mass shootings that people are dealing with these events on a regular basis. This should not be the case.

I am beginning to live in fear for me and my family’s safety. North Dakota is not immune to this. There was the shooting at a wedding reception in New Rockford a few months ago. That shouldn’t have happened. People should be able to attend joyful events without thinking about the potential of dying. How are we going to keep guns out of the hands of people who have the potential to kill others? How can we keep our communities safe?

Last week I had a real breakdown, this was before the San Bernardino shooting. I dropped my son off at pre-school here in Jamestown. I forgot to bring his heavy coat for when they play outside. When I returned to drop off his coat I simply walked into the school, unnoticed, walked into the classroom, unnoticed again and dropped off his coat in his cubby. As I did this I looked around at the kids playing and realized how vulnerable they were. What if I were someone with a gun and mal intentions to kill a bunch of kids? I went home and cried, my thoughts of losing my son to such violence consumed me. The fear and the feeling of loss were real at that moment and I was in hysterics all morning.

Yes you can say this is a security issue on the school’s part, but really, should we even have to worry about a situation like this?

I am supporting gun control now. Solutions need to be found and the gun lobby can’t keep blaming mental health. I support guns for hunting. All other weapons need to be regulated and strict background checks made (for hunting weapons included). I don’t know exactly what the solution is, but we do need to look beyond our borders to other countries who don’t have these instances of mass murder to see how their gun laws protect their citizens.

Having this fear is disturbing and frightening, and living in fear of your fellow Americans is no way to live free.

Thank you for your time,

Jennifer P. Kross