Proud Mama Moment

Maybe it’s because I was raised by hippies. Learning protest songs before nursery rhymes must have had some deep and lasting impression on my psyche. But no matter how much I rebelled against my parents (and believe me they still question if I could in fact come from their gene pool) by going to work in finance for “the man,” or loving church, or living in a lovely Edward Sisscorhand’s suburban neighborhood I still love rooting for the underdog. Most especially when the underdog is in the right. I may disavow many of my parents free spirited ways but when it comes to standing up for what is right I am like a dog with a bone. Plus I’m Irish so fighting comes as naturally as breathing air to me.

So I’m still heated about the gun bill being voted down in the Senate. I just still think it’s nasty business when even though a majority of Americans (70%+ by most polls) support the measure and a majority of our elected representatives voted to pass the legislation we continue to be held hostage by the gun lobby and a misguided sense that politics is a game.

That the gun lobby was able to intimidate and pay off enough Senators to kill the bill is shameful. Having lived and worked in DC I saw how the game is played up close and personal. And it was for exactly that reason I left politics. I really want nothing to do with a culture that purports to be about the greater good but in fact is all about keeping their jobs – and even more gross, “winning” the game.

I do want to give a shout out to Senator Pat Toomey (R-PA) who had the cojones to go on record and admit that what should have been about protecting our children and serving the greater good came down to members of his own party not wanting “to be seen helping the president.” I just threw up a little into the back of my mouth, how about you? And Dems please don’t get all smug because mean eighth grade girls have nothing on you either. Both parties play this game and sometimes one side wins and sometimes the other side does – but guess who loses? Us, that’s who.

So when I saw a brave young woman stand up to one of those misguided Senators my heart swelled with pride. Just as I am sure her mother, had she been alive to see her, would have as well. Erica Lafferty, the daughter of slain Sandyhook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, drove to a town hall meeting to ask Senator Ayotte (R-NH) why she had voted against the legislation. Senator Ayotte had indicated that it was because it would place an undue burden on small business owners so Erica naturally asked: “I’m just wondering why the burden of my mother being gunned down in the halls of her elementary school isn’t as important.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mERbzxP5aw I’m sure Dawn is having a proud mama moment in Heaven!

Senator Ayotte did bring up a good point which is that the state of mental health in our country needs to be examined and improved. You’ll get no arguments out of me, but what does one have to do with the other? That’s like your son saying he doesn’t have to clean his room because he took out the trash. To me cleaning out the dirty gym socks under his bed is just as important as making sure the trash isn’t overflowing. It’s all about keeping the house clean. So Senators, please just put down the NRA talking points because we’re not as stupid as you think we are.

Again ladies, this is not a Democrat or Republican issue. This is about making sure that while we are at work that our children aren’t being gunned down in their classrooms. This is about not being overwhelmed by the problem – but being empowered to create change! This is about finding our voices and using them to advocate for our children and our families. There can be common sense gun control. If we speak up our elected officials will listen. And if they don’t there’s always next November.

Send your senator and congressman an email letting them know you support common sense gun control: http://www.house.gov/ or http://www.senate.gov/ I promise they really do pay attention to messages from their constituents – they want to keep their jobs, right?

If you like my blog you’ll love my book. Buy The Working Mommy’s Manual on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Working-Mommys-Manual-Nicole-Corning/dp/0615637418/ref=cm_sw_em_r_dp_6ZRcqb0QFT7P8_tt