They stood around watching the house burn. It was quite a spectacle, the crowd grew larger with each moment. Massive flames visible, engulfing the structure, smoke could be seen for miles. Onlookers speculated about the cause…

Man: Maybe she left the stove on?

Woman: Possible, that happened to a friend of a friend once….actually, they think the cat started that one, jumped on the stove and hit the nob just right. Insane!

Man: Could have been smoking in bed or in a recliner, fell asleep…wake up with your hair on fire, literally!

The fire continues to burn and spreads to the next house…

Mayor (grabs a megaphone): Y’all need to step back a bit, this fire is getting out of hand!

Woman: Indeed it is, I heard it started with a space heater.

Man: What? That’s nuts it was 60 degrees last night who uses a space heater when it’s 60 degrees!

Woman: My momma that’s who….she has circulation problems, always cold.

The fire has spread to several buildings now with no end in sight…

Kid: Instead of talking about how the fire may have started, why don’t we try to put it out?

And this my friends is how it seems to me when people discuss mass shootings in America. They want to blame mental illness, video games, the avocado shortage, Mercury in Retrograde, shitty parenting, a lack of Jesus, racism, politicians and big pharma. The common denominator in mass shootings is GUNS, 100% of the time. Let’s start there because we on fire.