In my last blog post, Run Like Hell, I told the horrific story of my daughter being caught up in the Dayton shooting that occurred in the Oregon Entertainment District in the early morning hours of August 3, 2019. In the aftermath, my daughter had a rough couple of weeks but seems to have settled back into her routine of practice, work outs, friends, classes, etc. This weekend she launches her sophomore volleyball campaign on the beautiful campus of the University of Notre Dame. As always, we can't wait to see her and the team do what they love and look forward to many happy times ahead. The realization of how lucky we are hits home every day.
The lasting damage to my daughter has been mitigated by the fact that she is surrounded every day with people who love and support her. And, if the sport of volleyball were a living thing, I would also be shouting my thanks to it as well - the sport has provided the distraction, the endorphins, the friendships and the mentors that have been rock solid to my daughter and imperative to her recovery.
We continue to pray for the innocent people who died, their families and friends as well as the many others who were physically harmed by the gunman. We also pray for the bouncer, Jeremy Ganger, who was credited in the week after the event, with causing a one to two second hesitation in the shooter by blocking the door to Ned Pepper's where my daughter lay on the floor. This hesitation allowed the Dayton police to close in and kill the madman before he gained entry to the bar. We can't imagine Jeremy's bravery and will never be able to properly thank him for this selfless act. The Dayton police, and all police, are every day heroes and I have taken to thanking any officer I see for their dedication and service.
I pledged to #dosomething about gun violence and mass shootings. It seems an insurmountable task once one delves below the surface of the soundbites and quick facts that we take to be the 'truth' about guns in the USA. As usual, what we trust we are being told to be factual, is actually a minuscule part of what is actually going on. Frustrating, but I didn't let that deter me.
Following is a letter to President Trump that, I was able to confirm yesterday, was hand delivered to the Senior White House Staff. Along with hand delivery of this letter, the Staff was told who I am, who my daughter is and a brief summary of her story. I have also emailed it to several other people who have promised to pass it along to others 'in power' (namely Senator McConnell, Senator Paul and Congressman Massie). I have not received confirmation of these deliveries yet, however.
I am at a loss at what else can be done. We can make our voices heard in the voting booth but, for me, this is very complicated as my choices seem to be a Republican who will do nothing and a Democrat who likely only supports 'bans'. When did our politics lose the art of compromise and replace it with existing only within our respective tribes and shouting down the other side? Gun control will only move forward with compromise, of that I am convinced. Unfortunately, unless we see systemic change on BOTH sides or in the leadership of both sides, I don't see much being done. However, for me, that doesn't mean I don't try.
That being said, if you agree with my proposals I have written in my letter to Mr. Trump, I urge you to move them forward to your Senators and Congresspeople, write your own letter to President Trump, or feel free to use mine - you have my permission.
We all have the power to #dosomething on this issue....
Ms.
Gretchen Stephenson
August
20, 2019
Honorable
Donald J. Trump
President
of the United States
1600
Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington,
DC 20500
Dear
President Trump,
Never
in a thousand years did I ever think I would be writing a letter to you. Of course, never in a million years did I
imagine my daughter would be the victim of a mass shooting. Physically unharmed, she was one of the hundreds
of patrons in the Oregon District in Dayton the evening an armed madman opened
fire. It is this event, Mr. President,
that has brought me to this pivotal moment in time, the time that I am writing
a letter to you, asking for your help.
I
am somewhat ashamed that the prior mass shootings only evoked a general
response of sympathy and thoughts of ‘here we go again’. Less than 14 hours before my own daughter was
crawling for her life on the floor of a bar where she, mere seconds before, had
been dancing with her friends, a shooting had taken place in a Walmart in
Texas. I only gave this tragedy passing
attention as I perused the afternoon news.
Now, however, the issue of guns hits very close to home and this event
has forced me to soul search, research, interview and draw conclusions about an
issue I previously thought about very little.
About
me (not that I am sure this matters), I am a registered Independent who twice
voted for President Obama. In 2016 I, not only, cast my vote for you, Mr. Trump,
but have since carried your torch in support of your policies. To this day, I continue to support you and
your Administration. As a member of the
LGBT community, I have lost some ‘friends’ due to my support for you, but I
stand by you because I believe in your vision for our country. I am the proud daughter of two German
immigrants who came here in the 1950’s and created the most wonderful life I
could imagine for myself and my siblings.
They are two of the proudest Americans I know and also support you. I am a small business owner who has
benefitted from the tax cuts and has paid a huge price with the passage of
Obamacare. I support you on the border
and was enraged at what happened to Brett Kavanaugh. Basically, I am behind you on almost every issue.
The
purpose of this letter is two-fold. One,
I want to let you know of some ideas that I have with regard to gun control
that are very moderate but would have prevented almost all the mass shootings
of the past few years, had they been in place.
Secondly, I want to let you know how I came to these ideas and the work
I have done in the two weeks that have passed since Dayton to ensure that my
ideas are palatable to both the ‘right’ and the ‘left’.
It
is my opinion, Mr. President, that your leadership on this issue will make or
break your electability in key swing states like Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania
and Michigan. Your action, or inaction,
on these mass shootings and the availability of semi-automatic weapons is key
to retaining the votes of the suburban women, who supported you in 2016, and in
possibly gaining new votes along the way.
I want you to win another term and, at the end of the day, we all want
less mass shootings and less death. Our
country can’t take much more division and this is one topic we should agree
deserves action.
In
a nutshell, my ideas are not bold and new, they probably won’t take you by
surprise. After all, I have already told you I spent less than 2 weeks in deep
thought and research on this issue so how can I know more than the
‘experts’. The answer is, I don’t. What I do know is how us regular people in
the Midwest feel about this topic, the reasonable ‘middle’ of the extreme left
and right ideologies. Extremists that
scream and call each other names, while us normal people sit in the middle with
our mouths shut. We are the majority
that elected you, Mr. Trump. We are the
voices that were heard so loudly on November 8, 2016 and have since faded to
the background, content with the work you are doing, not willing to engage in
the cat fights. It is for this majority
of people that I have elected myself spokesperson on this issue.
1.
We must repeal the Dickey Amendment and allow
the CDC to conduct nonpartisan gun control studies. Just as they did after 911, the CDC can then
make recommendations based on unbiased statistical research, as to what steps
can be taken to stem gun violence and specifically, mass shootings. Our country is markedly safer since 911 from
terror attacks. The precautions that are
now in place to prevent terror attacks are the direct result of CDC research. Please repeal Dickey so we can get to the
truth on gun violence and, specifically, mass shootings and use the findings to
make us all safer.
**The
rest of my ideas only pertain to semi-automatic weapons and any accessories
that can turn regular guns into semi-automatic guns. These ideas do not pertain to the purchase of
hand guns, hunting rifles, etc.
2.
Enact
a waiting period, aka Cooling Down period, of a minimum of 3 months.
3.
Enact
Federal Red Flag/Restraining Orders. In
KY we have a law called Casey’s Law. It is a law that allows loved ones or
friends of a person addicted to drugs or alcohol to petition the court for
treatment on behalf of the person. I see
Red Flag laws working in the same way.
The Laws should include a due process piece as well as limits on who
could make a report and to whom, as well as guaranteed mental health therapy
for those whose applications are denied.
4.
When
an application is made to purchase a semi-automatic weapon, the person has to
undergo an extensive background check to include
a.
Waiting
period extends until the background check is concluded if it takes longer than
three months
b.
Background
check of the previous ten years to include:
i.
mental health records (HIPPA release required)
ii.
physical health records (HIPPA release
required)
iii.
national criminal history (not just state
history as is the case now)
iv.
social
media investigation including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram
v.
(If
applicable in the past ten years) all school records and juvenile police
records.
5.
Enact
a national fingerprint database to ensure all past criminals are included in
one place.
6.
Required
30 hours of training on use of the weapon to include firing the weapon.
This
plan would allow people like my brother and nephew who own semi-automatic
weapons to still own them, but would eliminate people like the shooters in El
Paso and Dayton. Law abiding citizens
would still be able to own these weapons but will give up the luxury of quick
access and will have to allow a look into their past. Similar to the luxury of quick travel
Americans relinquished after 911 – we now willingly take our shoes off, give up
our liquids and follow any number of other rules to ensure the safety of the
citizenry. These ideas are no different.
This
plan doesn’t ban any weapons and I would not support a ban. For me, personally, a ban would be a good
idea but in terms of keeping this conversation open to all, the word ‘ban’
would automatically shut out millions of gun owners. This plan also does nothing retroactively for
those semi-automatic weapons already in the hands of the public. The hope is that alert family members and
loved ones would use the Red Flag Laws if they have concerns about someone who
has ready access to a semi-automatic weapon.
Further, I understand if people want to get a semi-automatic weapon they
still may do so, illegally. What this
plan ensures is that our government is not complicit, due to inaction, in these
shootings any longer. Currently, the inaction of the federal government and, in
particular the Republicans, literally means you have blood on your hands. The plan is not perfect but it is a start and
a moderate one at that.
As
our President, you routinely talk about the importance of national
security. It is a benchmark of your
Presidency. Being the strong leader that
you are, I am not sure how, in this moment of national emergency, you can sit
by and be content with doing nothing? Enemies
both foreign and domestic are your responsibility, Mr. President, we have
domestic enemies wreaking havoc on every day Americans and need your help and
leadership on this issue.
In
compiling my list of ideas, I consulted with several people. On the Democrat side, I met with Josh Blair a
local politician running for representative to the state from my district and
had a long telephone call with Amy McGrath, Senate opponent to Mitch McConnell. I read articles/studies in both the LA Times
and Washington Post and listened to radio shows of KY state democrats
discussing this issue. On the Republican
side, I met with Kris Knochelman, Judge Executive in my county, who is
colleagues with Mr. McConnell and Mr. Massie (my congressman). I listened to
podcasts on this subject by Ben Shapiro and Don Bongino as well as listened to
a radio interview of Thomas Massie and read some articles he has written. I have spoken to members of my family who support
the Second Amendment and are NRA members.
I have also spoken to many every day Democrats who believe a total ban
of semi-automatic weapons is the only answer.
I interviewed a gun shop owner, the owner of fingerprinting company, a
few veterans and several people who own these types of guns. Almost unanimously they thought my ideas were
fair, moderate and were things they could agree to.
My
goal here, Mr. Trump, is to move this conversation along. Your sincere engagement in this topic will
not only save innocent American lives and help stem this epidemic, but will
also help your reelection. More
importantly, the ideas I have listed will ensure that our federal government
isn’t complicit in any more of these mass shootings. Will you be my voice?
You
are probably not reading anymore (if you read this at all) but if you are…thank
you. I actually could write three more
pages on my ideas and support for them but I know you are the busiest person in
the world, so I will stop.
I
am, of course, open for more discussion with you or anyone from your
staff. I have no plans on organizing
petitions, participating in marches or any such thing. I am just a mom from KY
who had to get some things off her chest to the person in charge.
Sincerely,
Gretchen
Stephenson
P.S.
Attached to this is an account I wrote of my experience as a mother whose
daughter experienced a mass shooting.
Wow, so very proud of this my friend...powerful...
ReplyDelete