Almost 3,000 American lives were lost in the Sept. 11 attack. During our response to the attack, around 15,000 American troop and contractor lives were lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since 9/11, there have been over 258,000 gun homicides in the U.S. Not all victims were gang members or criminals. Tens-of-thousands of them were innocent, decent men, women, and children (https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/fv9311.pdf and https://www.statista.com/statistics/249803/). It is a grotesque statistic!

Across the nation, some 30 people died after being shot on September 10, 2025. They included: Shannon Rodrigues, 60, of Dallas, TX; Dedric Arnold, 23, Cedar Rapids, IA; Ronaldo Richmond, 49, Stone Mountain, GA; Curtis Harris, 58, Indianapolis, IN; Marlon Lane, 18, Jacksonville, FL; Carlos Bogan, 34, Mobile, AL; Haskell Jenkins, 20, Burton, SC; and John Michael Lee, 48, of Canton, OH.

Also listed for that particular day was Charlie Kirk, 31, Orem, UT.

John Lee, in the above list, was homeless and living in a tent encampment. Charlie Kirk was attending a speaking engagement at a university. John was mortally shot in the head, while Charlie was mortally shot in the neck.

Is the murder of one less tragic than the murder of the other? What of all the others shot and killed that day, or during the year? Where is their outpouring of grief and call for action?

I don’t know much about these people or their situation. I am sure that some were involved in crime or drugs, while others were victims of domestic violence. They were relaxing at home, attending church, or just sitting in a crowd talking to college students, microphone in hand.

Of all the victims, however, I believe that only one thought that – – – “it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”

When said, Kirk was presenting his view on gun violence at an event organized by Turning Point USA (TPUSA Faith), on 5 April, 2023 (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/charlie-kirk-quotes-beliefs).

I can’t speak for the 46,728 people who died from gunshot wounds in 2023, but I don’t believe all the fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters would feel that it was a prudent and rational deal.

Instead, we need to look at states with the lowest rate of gun deaths (2023): MA, NJ, NY, HI, RI, CT, CA, MN, NH, and IA. And states with the highest rate of gun deaths: MS, LO, AL, NM, AK, WO, TN, AR, MT, and MO (https://publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-gun-violence-solutions/research-reports/gun-violence-in-the-united-states).

The answer for a reasonable, nationwide response to gun violence is there. We now need to elect politicians willing to listen to reason and facts, and who favor common sense over political grandstanding.