The Speech That Should Have Been
My fellow Americans, I join you today in sadness, shock, and grief. Sunday night an unspeakable tragedy happened, when a man opened fire on a large crowd at a concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. At least 59 innocent people lost their lives and more than 520 were injured. We are still determining the motive for this heinous act, hoping that it will help us make sense and heal as humans, families, community, and nation.
Since this horrible massacre is bigger than all of us, I have put my petty grievances with the different security agencies aside to ensure that all the necessary resources, autonomy, and expertise is available for this investigation and further steps we might need to take to protect people on our soil. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are assisting local authorities to the fullest extent and updates will be provided as we find out more.
I have spoken with Mayor Carolyn Goodman and conveyed the condolences of the entire American people. This could have been any one of our communities. So I told Mayor Goodman that whatever help she and the people of Las Vegas need — they are going to get it. As a country, we will be there for the people of Las Vegas today, tomorrow and for all the days to come. I also expressed my profound gratitude to all the police and first responders who rushed into harm’s way. Their courage and professionalism saved lives and kept the carnage from being even worse. It is the kind of sacrifice that our law enforcement professionals make every single day for all of us, and we can never thank them enough.
Fellow citizens are now mourning the sudden loss of a loved one — a parent, a child, a brother or sister. We have compassion for their pain. We have compassion for their loss. We have compassion for their grief.
Furthermore, we are obligated to honor the lives that were lost and the spirit of the survivors and to me, that means doing everything within my power to ensure this does not happen ever again.
All too long have we equated personal freedom and rights with having the means of aggression and grave harm, and it is now abundantly clear that the cost of that is unbearable. The sad fact, that we have more than seven times the gun murders per resident as the countries we compare ourselves to, should be more than sufficient evidence that guns take away more lives than we are willing to give, and that we as a nation aspiring to be the greatest on earth are failing that very goal as long as we stand in the shadow of this devastating statistic.
We have to establish long-term goals of fighting both international and domestic terrorism, forging global and local peace with diplomatic effort and treating mental illness to the best of our considerable abilities, but unfortunately that alone will not be able to prevent tragedies like the one on Sunday fast enough, and we cannot afford to lose any more time or lives.
I have therefore decided to eliminate civilian access to guns with immediate effect. Firearms can from now on only be obtained by military and government law enforcement entities and in those cases only for duty purposes. Guns can no longer be stored at home, but have to be kept in approved facilities. Amnesty programs to collect guns already in the hands of the general public will be established immediately and failure to comply within the specified timelines will result in substantial fines.
I recognize that some will see this as an infringement on their civil rights, but I want them to ask themselves if owning a gun is more important than their life or that of a loved one and I trust — I know — the answer is a resounding no.
By laying down arms we take a meaningful and comprehensive step towards honoring the lives and abilities lost since Sunday and too many times before. By laying down arms we begin to heal and live in peace. By laying down arms we show our strength and determination as a free people.
Thank you. God bless America. Thank you.
Suggested Music Pairing: No Freedom as performed by Miley Cyrus and Adam Sandler on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
Read more fiction at www.voluble.me
