This should be the face of gun control in America
Friday night, we were making a Target run at their Highland Park, Illinois store. As we entered, my partner and I split up to head to different departments. I made a sudden stop as I noticed the blonde-headed boy in a wheelchair, who was with two other members of his family. I was sure I recognized the boy, but I was trying to decide whether or not to approach them. Finally, I decided to go for it. I asked his sister:
“Is that Cooper?”
She said it is, which led to me introducing myself to Cooper and his family. We then chatted for about ten minutes. The talk ranged from baseball and why he was a Milwaukee Brewers fan to where he was going to school and how that was going.
There was one subject we didn't talk about—gun violence in America.
You see, the boy in the wheelchair is Cooper Roberts. On July 4, 2022, he was attending the holiday parade in Highland Park, with his twin brother and his parents. It was no different than what occurred in thousands of communities across America. There was one difference. A deranged man started firing a gun into the crowd. Seven people were killed, with forty-eight more injured. Cooper was one of those forty-eight.
It’s shocking how fast your life can change. One minute you’re out with your family celebrating and the next you’re fighting for your life after being shot which leaves you paralyzed from the waist down. What’s even more shocking is that a large percentage of America think it’s more important to have their guns than to keep children like Cooper safe.
After every mass shooting we hear the words that it’s a mental health problem. I don’t believe it and I don’t like it, but fine. If you’re one of those who do believe it, get off your ass and do something about it. Make some calls to your local representatives and tell them we need more funding for mental health facilities…a lot more funding. For those of us who believe guns are the answer, keep pushing for more stringent gun laws.
It’s only a matter of time until we have another incident like we had in Highland Park…or Uvalde…or Sandy Hook…or Columbine…or any of a hundred other places. It is going to happen and it might just be in your neighborhood. Please let’s do something before one of your children or grandchildren becomes the next Cooper Roberts.
A very nice and emotional piece about a tragic incident. Nobody thinks guns are 'more important' than Cooper's life, or legs. Many think freedom is important. It's not an either-or situation. Disarming law-abiding citizens will never make bad people harmless. You seem to have omitted that the HP shooter was known to law enforcement. Did they drop the ball like they did with Hunter's gun purchase? And yes, I've pushed for more mental health facilities. Big pharma pushes for more drugs to allow the mentally ill on the streets and the politicians go for it because they can use money that could be used for facilities to treat the mentally ill for their pet projects, or donors. Tell the whole story and you might be more credible.