So how soon is too soon?

We have had another mass shooting. Reasonable people ask uncomfortable questions about guns. Pro-gun politicians in Washington and conservative TV commentators cry “It’s too soon to have this conversation.” So when, I ask, is it the right time to have this talk?

We’ve needed this conversation for a long time (I would note that this is not a comprehensive list) — Virginia Tech in 2007 (32 dead), Fort Hood (13 dead) in 2009. Tucson (six dead) in 2011, Sandy Hook (26 dead), Aurora (12 dead), and the Wisconsin Sikh Temple (six dead) in 2012, and the Washington Navy Yard (12 dead) in 2013, Isla Vista (six dead) and Harris County (six dead) in 2014, The Charleston Church (nine dead) and, San Bernardino (14 dead), in 2015, Pulse Nightclub (49 dead), Dallas (five dead) in 2016, and Las Vegas (59) in 2017.

I am a liberal so that means I want to trample over your Second Amendment rights, isn’t that right? Nope, I don’t want my rights trampled on, so why would I trample on yours? I am curious as to why pre-1986 machine guns, semi-automatic weapons and bump stocks are all legal to purchase? Why make suppressors legal? Why did Donald Trump relax the Obama administration’s rules on making it harder people with mental illnesses to purchase guns?

So let me ask again — is it too soon to have this talk or are we wasting our time since nothing will be done?

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 9:17 PM with the headline "So how soon is too soon?."