Take a moment and google the words "Pokemon Go"--the latest national craze responsible for the rash of people walking into walls-—plus the name of your state. Look at the top choices.
For most of you, you’ll get results about businesses in your state trying to get in on the craze. Arkansas will tell you that Eureka Springs is the state's newly declared Pokemon headquarters. Michigan will give you a list of Pokemon gyms in Detroit. California will tell you about the two idiots who walked off a cliff trying to catch one. (They’re bruised, but fine.) DC will tell you about hosting a Pokemon hunt on the National Mall. Nevada will tell you about the odd findings at Area 51.
Then there's the headline for Florida:
Man Opens Fires At Two Pokémon Go Players in Florida
It’s horrible, but not at all surprising.
In fact, if the kids had gotten hit, the man would no doubt try to claim Stand Your Ground--the Florida murderer's magic incantation spell to ward off criminal prosecution. Luckily, no one died—this time. But that is not always the case with Florida shooting sprees.
Everyone should have heard about the worst mass shooting in our nation’s history at the Pulse nightclub; but what you most likely haven’t heard are the more routine shooting sprees, like this one, that have become so common that Florida citizens have essentially tuned them out.
How many of you heard about the one that just happened today at a Florida hospital, by the way?
If you are around long enough, you unfortunately might run into one. I had just missed a shooting spree in the building I was in a few years ago. A disgruntled employee entered the Gateway Center building in downtown Orlando. We had left earlier and were lucky. Six people in the building weren’t so much.
Gun violence is a debilitating disease that inflicts our nation like no other on earth. Our lackadaisical attitude towards gun violence, both exemplified and amplified in Florida, is the carrier.
Our state leaders have made it easier to kill more, kill faster, and to get away with it more than anywhere else in the nation. All of our local gun ordinances were revoked, Stand Your Ground shot up the murder rate, and the business of writing gun laws was turned over to the NRA. Rick Scott even lets them call the shots with our own National Guard.
One week after the Pulse massacre, a Florida legislator literally treated the tragedy as an effing game—with the prize being an AR-15. Little Marco Rubio finally showed up to work— just to vote against background checks---and against terrorists getting assault rifles with high-capacity magazines. Most appalling, (but least surprising), was the fact that he awaited his orders from the NRA.
Believe it or not, the gun nuts in this state are actually a small minority. But what they lack in numbers (and common sense), they make up for with intense passion and dedication. The NRA tells them what is coming down the pike, who to contact, and what to say. I cannot begin to describe how effective this is.
Our side needs to do better. It really does make a difference. Back in February, I wrote about kids in Florida getting shot with makeshift gun ranges in people’s backyards. Despite NRA opposition, the outcry was loud enough that even Rick Scott himself had to admit this was a stupid idea and a law was passed curtailing them. We can win, but only if we put about half the effort towards fighting for our children as we do in catching Pokemon.
Let’s GO, Florida!