🔁 BEST OF - Changing Gun Violence

No one ever said life is easy, but I believe by giving yourself permission, you will find you have more control over your life than you realize. I'm Julie. I hope you will join me by taking responsibility for yourself, by only controlling the things you can and letting go of the things that you can't. By doing this, you will have discovered the secret to having happy, healthy and more fulfilling relationships. This is Nearest and Dearest Podcast. I'm Julie Rogers and you are listening to Season 2, Episode 6, Changing Gun Violence. I am getting so frustrated and angry over gun violence.

I have shared with you before about mental health stigma. Yes, people who commit acts of violence with guns to innocent communities most likely have mental health conditions or have a mental health illness. I say that because many people who deal with mental health concerns may not have a formal diagnosis or a full-fledged illness. It's important to use appropriate language when talking about mental health. When you combine awareness of language and how a person views or speaks about mental health illness, you stop sustaining negative labels and stereotypes. I feel by doing so, even through one person at a time, it helps to deflect the stigma. People who are dealing with mental health concerns and are seeking treatment for a mental health illness deserve the right in realizing that their illness should not define who the person is. Just like any other medical conditions that people have to deal with, like cancer, heart disease, dementia, society does not frown upon or judge these medical conditions, nor should society treat mental health illnesses any different.

When I decided to speak about gun violence, I came across some articles from the perspective of parents who lost their 17-year-old son to the Parkland Florida shooting in 2018. Manuel and Patricia Oliver lost their son Joaquin, alongside 16 others that horrific day on February 14th at Stoneman Douglas High School. The article was released on April 12th this year. It was written by Shahnaz Mahmud, under Muse by Clio. The first photo under this article showed a young boy's face, probably around 8 years old, in army gear, with a helmet, camouflaged paint on his face, looking straight at the camera, with big brown eyes. To the left side of his image, in large, bold letters which said Quote "send your children to war. It's safer than sending them to school. In the last two decades, more children have died from guns than active-duty military and police officers combined. Join us to help eradicate the gun violence epidemic.' End Quote. It was a powerful photo and with those shocking words to back up what's happening in our country. How could you not be impacted? This is the message from a gun control nonprofit organization called Change the Ref, which was founded by Patricia and Manuel Oliver. Their mission statement is, quote 'shifting America's social response to gun violence by uniting creativity, activism, disruptions and education.' End quote. Change the Ref uses art and nonviolent organizing to advocate for gun safety regulations and expose the effects of mass shootings. Their ultimate goal is to give the young generations a voice to advocate for change in the gun control policy.

Last year around this time, Patricia and Manuel Oliver attended the Clio Awards, which is an annual award program that recognizes innovation and creative excellence in advertising design and communication, as judged by an international panel of advertising professionals. Manuel gave a provocative speech where he accepted the Advertiser of the Year Award as his son, Joaquin. I watched the YouTube video that was shared in an article written by Tim Nudd under Muse by Clio, and it was straight from his heart. He wore a paper mask in the image of his son's face and spoke as Joaquin. I have never heard or watched a speech like that before. He was challenging agencies to do more to fight gun violence. He spoke to the crowd, demanding them to quote,

'bring ideas to the table, make change, make a difference. The advertising industry is the most powerful force out there because you can change the future.' End quote. He also says how he and his wife have been trying to convince you that you don't want to be in their shoes. Quote, 'Why is that so hard to understand?' End quote.

The Oliver family and their organization Change the Ref recognizes the powerful and impactful influences that advertisers have on culture and societies. Manuel even states how much more advertisers have done to create change than politicians have. He continues his speech with words that I felt connected to Quote, 'You can change the gun culture that only exists in America. You can change the love for guns and turn it into love for life. You can save lives.

This award is for the 45,000 victims of gun violence that we allowed in America. The most powerful nation in the world is letting that happen. How is that possible? Bring ideas to the table, make a change, make a difference. You can change the future by telling the truth. And, by the way, the truth is not that the gun industry and selling guns is freedom. Freedom is living, and I cannot enjoy that anymore.' End quote. It's time for America's politicians to recognize that, no matter what your political stance is right or left or whatever, innocent victims are dying every day because the laws in our country put the rights to bear arms without many boundaries ahead of human lives. Stop making it a right versus left political agenda. It should always be the right to live in a safe, protected environment, whether that's your home, school, work or any social outings that you have the freedom to attend.

I truly believe that our forefathers of this country, when they put the Second Amendment in our Constitution back in 1789, could not have envisioned weapons like the AR-15, which can fire many bullets quickly approximately 40 rounds per minute, depending on how fast your finger pulls the trigger and how fast you unload the empty magazine and replace another loaded one and start shooting again to be manufactured, let alone that the average citizen's desire to own one to protect themselves. The forefathers could not have predicted how many innocent people are dying every day in our country because of guns. How easy it is to buy one or more without many limitations, restrictions, vary depending on which state you are purchasing a gun from, not to mention the ability to illegally purchase a weapon as well. I'm not saying American citizens shouldn't own guns. I'm saying, in what context does someone need a weapon like an AR-15? Why can't we take a step back and come to middle ground when it comes to the right to bear arms? I don't understand why some gun owners and lobbyists for being against broader background checks have a problem with that.

Our country has more restrictions for becoming a US citizen than requiring showing evidence that can clear a person to go and buy a weapon that can kill people. We have to wait patiently for having proper documentation for a driver's license, a passport, but there isn't any patience for an extensive background check to clear that person and make sure there aren't any red flags. You can still buy certain types of guns at 18 years old, but there are laws prohibiting drinking alcohol until you are 21. It doesn't make sense to me. Yes, it takes a real human to pull a trigger that can kill another human. Yes, if you have more restrictions and mental health screenings in place before you are allowed to purchase a weapon, that person might find a way to purchase one illegally or through theft.

But those should not be the valid reasons why better laws are made to protect citizens from easily committing crimes and murder with legally purchased guns. Unfortunately, it will take walking in the shoes of a murdered victim's family to see firsthand how gut-wrenching, horrific and senseless these continued tragedies keep coming at us. The politicians who hold the power to legislate laws that are supposed to protect its citizens will never understand unless it happens to them personally. I worry about my grandchildren, not only about the safety they deserve from schools but from their jobs they will hold in the future and the freedoms they deserve to pursue, whatever their dreams are, shouldn't their rights and our future generations' rights mean more than a gun. The views and opinions expressed by Nearest and Dearest Podcast are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Nearest and Dearest Podcast. Any content provided by Julie Rogers or any other authors are of their opinion. They are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything. Thank you.