The day began with a message from a bestie (nickname Mom #2) reporting on a crew celebrating a year of turning 40 and they all headed from Northern Ontario to Vegas, "We are all safe." Fuck, this is not normal.
The evening continued at the dinner table, discussing the details (with the dudes) and explaining it was exactly where their father was a few weeks ago, and the collective reaction was matter of fact, which did not help my attempt to wrap my head around the situation. This is not the first one, nor the last - I recall very vividly the Oklahoma bombing in 1995 (not a shooting, but an event that should create heightened awareness) and later writing an article for The Drive Magazine detailing the execution of Timothy McVeigh in June of 2001 - today brought me back to that (and the many others: Orlando, Sandy Hook and close to my new home, the Aurora CO movie theatre shooting).
During Clinton's era the Assault Weapon Ban became law in 1994 (until it's expiration in 2005), those ban years saw a decrease in mass shootings; only 16 from 1995 to 2004, unlike the spike in 2005 to 2012 (27 incidents - source Mother Jones). This is not normal, assault weapons are not necessary for general society. I felt more comfortable in Paris this summer with military slinging their semi-automatics across their shoulders.
We need a new normal - peace and love, vagi