What words can describe the senseless killing of six people, including three 9-year-olds, in Nashville on Monday, bringing the total number of US mass shootings to 131 in 2023. The numbers are staggering, considering that more than 400 children have been killed by guns in the US in these past three months. Yet no unified effort across party lines has catapulted Congress into taking an assault weapons ban to task.

Fellowship of Reconciliation, a long ally of Peace House, is urging people to organize and push for action:

“Today’s tragedy at Covenant Elementary, a private Christian religious school, requires far more than prayers. FOR calls on lawmakers and communities to take immediate action to finally prioritize life over the profits of firearm companies.”

The League of Women Voters of Nashville also called for swift action, when they stated:w

“Monday’s tragedy unfolded as our state legislature is poised to weaken gun safety laws. Our elected leaders must do more to protect our communities from the dangers of gun violence and to keep our students safe. We call on Congress to pass the assault weapons ban.”

A complexity in the incident reporting on Monday involved the gender identity of the shooter, who was killed by police, which twisted the story and fanned the fervor of homophobic and anti-trans idealogues. Gays Against Guns and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence have pushed back and pointed out the discrepancy. 

“Gun reform advocates and LGBTQ activists say the transgender community is being used as a “scapegoat” and that focusing on the shooter’s reported trans identity is a distraction from what they say is the root of the issue: guns.

“Despite what the gun industry and their political allies want, attempting to find a scapegoat isn’t going to take away from the fact that what is causing gun violence in America is our easy access to firearms,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The calls for an assault weapons ban is widespread, yet it seems we are as far as ever from a federal act of Congress to stem easy access to the dangerous weapons. 

”There have been too many massacres of children in our schools. In the wake of each one, we are shocked into action – and then, when the moment passes, our resolve fades and we move on.”