It gets me real pissed off, and it makes me wanna say ...

FUUUUUUUCK. All of the fucks. Sunday morning I woke up, read about Trump ridiculing the mayor of San Juan, and went back to sleep. But this morning, I woke up to much worse news. Another mass shooting. The worst one yet (in America).

I am of course saddened by the loss of life here. I'm not dead inside. But since I didn't personally know anyone affected by the shooting, my grief is outweighed by anger. When does it end?

I've seen lots of fun people on Facebook telling my friends not to "make it about politics." Newsflash, people, IT IS ABOUT POLITICS. Gun laws are political. Lately, health care (and thus mental health benefits/coverage) is political.These are things our government regulates, and these are two big factors in tragedies like Vegas. So how exactly do we expect things to change if we don't make it political? We're gonna pray all the bad away?

That was rude. I'm not a big prayer person, but no disrespect if that's your thing. Please continue to pray for people's minds and hearts to change if you choose to. But I think we've got to take tangible action to prevent more of this shit going down.

That means better gun control laws. Sorry I'm not sorry that it makes it harder for Joe Blow to get a gun. It SHOULD be hard to get a gun, friend. Perhaps as hard as it is to get an abortion? Just sayin. And even if tightening up gun regulations doesn't stop ALL mass shootings, I'm guessing it would stop some. Isn't it worth a try? So, call and write to your congresspeople. I have Sen. Gardner's number saved in my phone, because 2017. Support organizations that are working to end gun violence and the influence of the NRA, like Everytown for Gun Safety.

It also means more accessible mental health care. I'm lucky, I can go to therapy for $15 a visit, because I have really good insurance. Even with that, it took me months to find a therapist who A) takes said insurance and B) was accepting new patients. Relatively few hoops to jump through, but like I said, I'm lucky. But someone who is struggling won't want to deal with hoops; it will seem like an insurmountable task that will never get done. We also need to address the stigma surrounding mental health care (this org seems to be working on it - I'm not familiar with it, but Aisha Tyler posted about it and she generally knows what she's talking about). It's absolutely not a sign of weakness to seek help. Honestly, I feel like recognizing you have some shit to deal with and attempting to address it is brave. Tamping it down or masking it by distracting yourself is the easier option, because you don't have to leave your comfort zone. But taking care of yourself makes you better able to take care of others, and if we all took better care of people, there just might be fewer people resorting to gun violence. Or any violence. Whoa.

So that's my three-pronged plan. Gun control, more access to mental health care, and love. Easy-peasy.