It's the least we can do

My thoughts and prayers, along with those of countless others, have gone out to those affected by the Las Vegas shootings.

And I so regret that. Because, along with many others, I’m not following through very well. As my son reminded me this morning, prayer is, among many things, a call to action. This is the time to talk about gun control. This is the time to figure out strategies for limiting access to guns. For anyone lost in this latest mass shooting, it’s already too late.

Ordinarily, I am at odds with writers in The Federalist, but this morning Jennifer Doverspike mused on our tendency to fill the air with thoughts and prayers and little else.

“Regardless of a Christian’s theological view on the power, nature, and validity of intercessory prayer, one thing remains clear,” she wrote. “God does not change his mind. God changes our minds.”

I am the daughter of a proud NRA member who used to tell me there were plenty of members who believed in stronger gun control. We need to hear from them. We need to insist that this is the time to have this conversation. We need to lobby our lawmakers with the same intensity -- if not the same budget -- as the NRA. We need to do more than pray, we need to change our minds.