I heard about the gun attack on Shabbat at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania early Saturday morning. Once I gathered myself and my thoughts together, I knew I had to comment on it. The following reflect my first thoughts that horrible morning. Nothing has changed days later.
E̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ Eleven people have been murdered at the Tree of Life Synagogue during Shabbat services. My heart goes out to the loss of life, to their families and to all of us.
People are posting things that have not been verified. I’m not going to do that. But I do know that the gun laws in Pittsburgh allow people to open carry without a permit and concealed carry with a permit. Which means to me that congregants could have been armed. I don’t know if this synagogue was a “gun-free zone.”
Secondly, people are shocked that there is hate in the world. Where have these people been all their lives? Bad people with bad intentions have been around since the first human being appeared on earth. Read this week’s Torah parsha.
We have a duty and an obligation to do everything we can and must to protect ourselves. The absurd belief that we can eliminate bad people with bad intentions is beyond stupid. Learn to protect yourself. Self-defense is a God-given right. Here in America – all of America – we have the very good fortune to have the Second Amendment. Honor it, yourselves and all good people by making use of it.
We will see less of this kind of horror by bad people with bad intentions.
–Doris Wise
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