ArcaMax

After the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, this is what I know for sure. Gun violence can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time. It is truly America's great equalizer. It touches the rich and the poor. It happens at nightclubs, movie theaters, the mall, while grocery shopping or even if you are asleep in your bed like Breonna Taylor. No one is immune. If a gun can slip through in the crowd at a campaign rally for a former president, where security is at its tightest, it absolutely can happen to anyone, anywhere.

People are not letting this fact sink in. Instead, they're pointing fingers and declaring all the reasons this has happened. They say it's the media and Democrats' fault for calling alt-right Republicans racist. They say it's what happens when you express concerns that Trump is an existential threat to democracy. In an email to customers, the custom printing company Sticker Mule wrote that "the hate for Trump has gone too far."

Is this the final straw? Really?

Gun violence perpetrated against a man who was surrounded by the Secret Service (good guys with guns) willing to use their bodies as human shields to protect the former president. This is the line that was crossed?

If this is truly the come-to-Jesus moment that shines the truthful light on America's gun problem, then I sincerely hope to see common sense gun laws come from the Trump administration when he is re-elected. And I do think this horrific incident will bolster his support and earn him his reeelection. Not to mention Elon Musk's pocketbook.

Deep in my soul I hope that as a gun violence survivor, he reflects on his experience and it drives him to keep Americans safe from what almost happened to him. That hope might sound like betrayal to every Second Amendment sanctuary city and state in this great nation who'd rather see every countryman instead stockpile a defense arsenal. I do understand it's a long shot.

However, I also know that hearts can change when something hits close to home. Everyone is capable of an epiphanic moment. So instead of spitfire, speculation and fighting, perhaps instead we pray that Trump has a change of heart. Even if it changes nothing, thoughtful meditation and prayer will be better for your own heart and soul, and it will do a whole lot more for this world than your social media vitriol.

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Check out Bonnie's weekly YouTube videos at https://www.youtube.com/bonniejeanfeldkamp. To find out more about Bonnie Jean Feldkamp and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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