The Oklahoma Democratic Party mourns the senseless violence that yesterday morning very publicly claimed the life of Professor William S. Klug, a 39 year old father of two, and one UCLA student, a man who was both villain and victim. Their deaths weigh heavily on the hearts and minds of ODP staff, as do the deaths of the 89 other Americans lost to gun violence every day. We are heartbroken for the families of the seven children murdered through gun violence every day, most of all for the two families waking up to the bitterly cold reality of a child lost to suicide, every day.

If there was ever a time for politics, this is not it. If there was ever a time to stick to the safety of a high horse, this is not it. We here in Oklahoma are as guilty as the rest of America; guilty of the negligence and inattention that continues to let one organization inhibit our country from taking the necessary steps to staunch the blood spilled due to gun violence. Over 32,000 lives are lost a year. If you think of them, pray for them, rage for them or cry for them, remember the 32,000 mothers and 32,000 fathers who are thinking, praying, raging, and crying for them as well.

This is not a time for politics because this is a time for action. You know the price of apathy. America, we have a choice: continue to give the funeral homes our business, or wake up, stand up, and make it known that enough is enough. Comprehensive background checks, closing loopholes, actually enforcing pre-existing laws: “common-sense gun safety laws” may not excite the imagination, but the only thing truly unimaginable is doing nothing.

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Citations:
1. “Professor Killed in UCLA Murder-Suicide,” last modified June 1, 2016, http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ucla-shooting-20160601-snap-story.html

2. “Key Gun Violence Statistics,” last modified 2016, http://www.bradycampaign.org/key-gun-violence-statistics