Daily Times

There appears no end to the parade of mass shootings in the US as yet another horrific onslaught (tragically ironic, on its Independence Day) sent hundreds of marchers fleeing the Highland Park in terror on Monday. As of now, six people have already been claimed dead while police have stepped forth with news of taking a person of interest under custody.

But while those who have had a close brush with death would be gripped with incredulous fear for weeks, even months, whether the state would finally rattle out of its complacency cannot be enunciated at this moment. Going by its record, the authorities would employ every ploy out of the handbook (from mental incapacity to sociological triggers) just so they can sweep the bloodied bodies under the rug and move on with their lives.

And fortunately for them, the higher judiciary is far too busy hammering out what a woman can or cannot do to her body to pay a moment’s worth of attention to such routine matters. American President Joe Biden has already drawn the ire of the kingmaking gun lobby by turning and twisting the screws on Congress to see his landmark safety restrictions bill sail through.

But if the United States still cannot be protected from someone’s nefarious designs because he can still reach out to the nearby convenience store and get his hands on the weapon of his choice, dare we say more about the miles needed to tread before darkness prevails? In schools, churches, grocery stores and now a march undertaken to celebrate the foundation of the nation, the bloodshed has been spilt in all corners and no matter what may be assumed, does not differentiate between the haves and the have-nots.

It was a single attack on the beloved twin towers that forced Washington to jump to its feet and design new policies, new order and a new identity altogether. The moment to rewind the clock to when human lives actually mattered and change laws accordingly is here and now. *