Yesterday there was a devastating attack on a jewish synagogue in Pittsburg, PA. At least 11 people were killed due to a heinous antisemitic shooting spree. I felt the need to discuss this due to how recently it happened, but also because of how it impacts me. I am Jewish. I attend services in my own synagogue back home. It has always been a safe place, I attended preschool there, had my Bat Mitzvah with all my friends and family, celebrated jewish holidays, etc.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/c/embed/73b261ba-da1c-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49
“All Jews must die” -Robert Bowers while shooting victims in synagogue –USA Today
Not every place of worship does the same things, but I guess I always considered them all as a place of sanctuary, a safe place.
After the shooting occurred, with further investigation the FBI found that the gunman, Robert Bowers, had an account on a popular online forum called Gab. Unlike regular social media platforms which restrict topics it is one that prides itself on free speech.
It has been stated that Bowers consistently posted antisemitic as well as white supremest comments and did so right before his attack saying,
“HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.”
It is hard not to see the connection of Trump’s choice of language when speaking of immigrants. He continues to bring hateful language into our country. In a rally on Monday, October 22nd Trump stated, democrats “have launched an assault on the sovereignty of our country.” and the caravan an “assault on our country”. This type of language is discriminatory and not helpful for our country to be coming from the president.
Not only that, it is no secret there have been a string of mass shootings in the past decade. Las Vegas, Parkland, Orlando, Colorado, South Carolina, Texas, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and countless others. It is difficult to continue to agree with the current gun control policies. The second amendment was created in 1791. This was before rifles or machine guns, or magazines were known to the public. When muskets were the weapon of choice and there was no ability to shoot a mass amount of people.
Trigger warning for this video
At this point it is too exhausting to continue to hear about the devastation from mass shootings. I am not proposing to not allow people to have guns but their ability to have a semiautomatic gun. It is hard to advocate for something that causes so much destruction and people abusing their “rights“. I agree you have a right to bear arms in the attempt to feel safer and have the ability to protect yourself or participate in hunting. NO ONE has the “right” to murder people for their race, identity, religion, etc.
I hope and believe the pendulum will swing back to civility
but at what time and at what cost.
There needs to be a change. What that is I cannot say. I am not sure what needs to happen at this point. Policy change? New law? All I know is we need to try to affect the change we wish to see by doing the only thing we can do. Continue to speak our minds about issues and VOTE.
Thank you for reading,
Vagibond
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
It is so disheartening these acts of anti-Semitism and how easy it is for someone to get ahold of a semiautomatic weapon. Did you know it’s easier for a thirteen-year-old to get access to a semi-automatic than it is to buy a lottery ticket? It’s infuriating. With that said, I’ve been keeping up with Robert Bowers’ trial and he pled “not guilty” – which is so twisted as he killed thirteen individuals and while doing so, as you said yelled, “All Jews must die.” Literally, he has no evidence that does not prove him as unguilty, he is inherently guilty. Nevertheless, what do you think of President Trump’s visit to Pittsburgh? What about his statement that the synagogue should have armed guards? Do you think that armed guards will ultimately be the end all be all for any religious place?
Needless to say, I am sorry for the blow to your community and as I am part Jewish as well, I feel your pain and loss and if you need anyone to speak to, I am here.
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I did see that he pled “not guilty” and was confused and unhappy that was the case. I will say that the synagogue does have an armed guard but that is when they have a larger service and more people in the temple. Not sure if Bowers was aware of this or not and chose a day that it wouldn’t be guarded but I don’t think adding more guns to the issue is a viable solution at this point. It is sad enough to think people do not feel safe nowadays in their own places of worship. I truly believe we should’ve been past this point and I hope the government finally agrees that our laws need an upgrade.
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I am someone who grew up around guns,I grew up hunting and fishing a learning how to shoot and reload before I learned to ride a bike, and I 100% agree with you. As a strong women who prides themselves on their individual lifestyle, I believe in the right to protect myself. However, how many more shootings need to happen for people to realize laws need to grow and evolve as our technology does. I am not saying completely outlaw guns but I support the need to alter our laws.
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I completely agree! I don’t want to completely outlaw anything but I definitely think that we need gun law reform.
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I agree with this! Honestly put us in charge we will figure it out!
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We really need to make a change in policy because this has to stop. Thank you for writing about such an important issue!
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I 100% agree! It is too important not to address at this point and I hope our government agrees.
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As a Jewish person, I sometimes feel I am too close to the situation to comment on issues like this. This is a horrible tragedy, and even so I feel like if I am too emotional about it I cannot justify talking about it. But enough is enough. I was absolutely horrified by this, but I am sick and tired of legislators saying that we’re making tragedies like this about gun control and politics “too soon.” We can grieve and be advocates for change at the same time. Has the right to bear arms really become more important than our right to religious freedom? Not to pit the importance of rights against each other, but religion has remained the same throughout the years, while the right to bear arms was conceived at a time when guns were far less dangerous, and certainly didn’t have the capacity to kill people as quickly as semi-automatic guns do. It’s time for policies to change, and for America to have more sensible gun control laws.
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