FedEX Shooting and MLK Statue Bill Contradict One Another

The recent FedEx shooting in Atlanta, Georgia and the MLK statue bill approval are two events that badly contradict one another. Was King alive today, he would be grieved at the gun culture that led to the senseless shooting.

Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, both heirs of MLK, stood besides Governor Nathan Deal as a bill was approved regarding the raising of a statue of MLK in Atlanta, Georgia. This is Martin Luther King’s home state and he is a person worthy of emulation by all civil rights activists. 

“Not many states can boast a native son who merited a national holiday, but we Georgians can,” said Deal. “Dr. King is a point of pride for our state, and he deserves to hold a place of honor on our Capitol grounds.”

However, things were not as simply and hunky dory as portrayed. MLK’s heirs spoke out against what they deemed to be a culture of violence and discrimination that King had tried to fight all his life. 

It showed their sincere beliefs that just by erecting a statue of the deceased leader, things would not automatically become alright. The struggle still had a long way to go before the goal of ending racism from America would be achieved. 

According to AJC, King III said:

“The more guns that we have acquired, the higher our violence seems to go. Why we continue to go in that direction is certainly of  concern. It’s going to be challenging when civilians have guns and the police come and they try to create order … It’s a bit unfortunate to mandate a policy to say you can have guns in schools, bars and churches but you can’t bring them into the Capitol. To me that seems a little inconsistent.”

King’s progeny did not hesitate in being as honest as possible with Deal in public view. They spoke of how the gun legislation that he was responsible for and that allowed firearms to be wielded by teenagers had deeply hurt the cause of King. 

And the end of Medicaid had stung the Black American community which so desperately needed the medical aid program. The remaining family of MLK spoke of how King never wanted mere statues to be built in his name. He wanted a better world where gun violence and disease were eradicated. 

The recent FedEx shooting by a gunman who wounded six innocent people and then killed himself also pointed in this direction.“The situation is now stabilized and we are focused on the needs of our team members and cooperating with the law enforcement investigation of this tragedy,” Shea Leordeanu, a spokeswoman for the Memphis, Tennessee-based shipping company, said in an e-mailed statement.

“Last week Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, a Republican, signed the state’s new Safe Carry Protection Act, giving citizens with gun licenses broad freedoms to bring firearms into some schools and religious institutions when authorized by those organizations.” reported Bloomberg.

As long as guns were in the possession of people, they would be tempted to use them. And God forbid, were one of them to become a psycho, the consequences for the public would be utter mayhem. America needed to clean up its act regarding the runaway gun culture and deficit in health care.