Thoughts on gun control

After the Orlando nightclub shooting on June 12th, I got into quite a few Facebook discussions about guns and gun control. I learned a lot and I'm very thankful for friends who can engage in (mostly) civil discussions about these issues. I told a few of them that I was going to write a blog post about my thoughts. In reading articles and doing research, I've come up with more questions than answers. This post will just be a few snippets of things I've done a little research on so far.

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One friend suggested that I research the Second Amendment. I'm well aware of the text, words ingrained from way back when in middle school, I think:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

But, how is it interpreted? Apparently, there are two common ways of interpreting the Second Amendment: the individual right theory and the collective rights theory. I lean towards the collective rights theory meaning I take the subject of the Second Amendment to be the well regulated militia, not the individual people.

I think this is where the fundamental difference between people's views lies too. Maybe it's because I'm a nurse, but I'm all for the common good (or maybe that thinking is what led me to becoming a nurse).

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Gun violence in Chicago is something that almost always comes up in these types of discussions. The idea being that Chicago has strict gun laws but plenty of gun violence so gun laws don't work. According to the NRA-ILA, in Illinois you must have a FOID (Firearm Owners Identification) to purchase or own rifles, shotguns and handguns, and to carry handguns. However, in both Indiana and Wisconsin, the only permit required is to carry handguns.

Therefore, it would seem that a Chicago resident could travel to either Indiana or Wisconsin to legally purchase a handgun whether or not that Chicago resident had a valid FOID card. Then, that Chicago resident could bring the gun back to Chicago. None of the states listed above require registration of firearms so that particular gun could fly under the radar for quite some time.

So far this year, there have been 2319 shooting victims in Chicago. There are many reasons for this. This article does a really good job at looking at a few of them. One of the most vexing things for me is that very often, there are no suspects. This is ridiculous.

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Another friend told me to check out the Pink Pistols, an LGBT shooting group. I hadn't heard of the group before. Their premise:

We teach queers to shoot. Then we teach others that we have done so.

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Ideally, what would I like to see? A few things:

• Licenses to purchase or carry firearms or ammunition
• Mandatory firearm education to obtain licenses
• Registration of all firearms
• Research funding for intentional and unintentional firearm injuries as well as firearm safety

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A few more articles I found interesting in my search:

• Guns. It always comes back to the guns. commentary by Rex Huppke of the Chicago Tribune 
• Shootings dropped in Germany after gun control laws tightened also from the Chicago Tribune. A completely different country, a completely different mindset, but interesting nonetheless.
• 2016 Gun Violence Resolution from the Society for Public Health Education

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I'll end this by saying that I have shot guns. I grew up with parents who hunted. I never saw a problem with that and I still don't. I refused to take hunter safety as a kid but would go along hunting without carrying a gun. A few years ago, while visiting John's uncle in Idaho, we went to a shooting range and shot a variety of guns owned by John's uncle's friend. What impressed me the most about this experience was that the gun owner fully respected the guns and made sure we all did too. Safety was his #1 concern. It was a great outing.

 

That being said, I can't imagine shooting another person. Shooting animals for food or shooting at targets? Sure. Shooting another person? No. And maybe this is where the true root of the problem lies. In society as a whole, maybe we don't value others' lives as much as we should. Which brings to mind another quote from this country's history:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

25 weeks

25 weeks today! I'm not sure why but that feels like a big milestone to me. Only 15 weeks to go!

Our week started off pretty busy with John's parents and Natalie visiting on Friday and Saturday after Natalie found an apartment for grad school in Evanston. Her lease starts September 1st! We're excited to have her so close!

Saturday we had a wedding for a friend of mine from Chamberlain. The wedding was at a beautiful Serbian church on the far south side of Chicago. The ceremony was done almost entirely in Serbian so we didn't understand much but it was very cool to be there. Between the ceremony and reception John and I found a Starbucks to hang out at. The reception was humongous! Definitely the biggest wedding reception I've ever been to. There were hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, a delicious family-style meal, and tons of desserts. Unfortunately, our table was right by a speaker which made things rather loud. But, we had a great time anyway!

Diana and Goran

John and I outside the church

Chris, Shannon, me, John, Justin, Maryam and Ricky

Our only excitement during the week was visiting a potential daycare, Bright Horizons at River East. It seems like a good place so if we decide to go the daycare route, I think we'll go with it. The only problem is that it's not super easy to get to from our place with a stroller...but we'll figure it out!

We've also started to seriously discuss names but haven't made much progress yet. There's still time...

24 weeks

We had our 24 week appointment today. Baby Girl's heartbeat was in the 140s to 150s and I was measuring at 23 cm which is right on track. We saw a new midwife today as now we'll start rotating through all the midwives in the practice so we meet everyone before delivery. She was a little concerned that I was on the low end of normal for weight gain but said she was reassured by Baby Girl's growth and the fact that I felt good. I feel like I'm eating all the time but guess I can try to eat a little more...

After our appointment we went to visit Northwestern Children's Practice. I found this group while researching pediatricians and it just so happened that I went to college with one of the nurse practitioners who works there. I messaged Teri and asked for her opinion and she invited me to come check it out but let me know that she would be moving to Denver in September. We met one of the other nurse practitioners and she seemed really great. One more thing checked off the baby to do list!

We had a busy weekend last weekend. We drove up to Stratford on Saturday for my cousin's graduation party. It was fun to see so much of the Spindler family again. I finally got to meet my cousin Chelsey's son Henry. He's 10 months old already! From Stratford, we went to Oshkosh to stay with John's parents and spend Sunday with his family. Natalie came home too. It was a fun day!

This week was pretty uneventful which was great. Yesterday I had a retreat for work which included my department (the Office of Student Affairs) plus Instructional Resources and Facilities Management. It was a pretty good day capped off with a Chicago Architecture Foundation river cruise. Luckily it wasn't as hot as predicted while we were on the boat!

23 weeks, 4 days

Week 23 was a busy one! We flew to Los Angeles early Monday morning to meet up with Laura and her family (Paolo, Geiner, Marcela, Gabriel, Andrea, Zulay, and Geiner). Mom also met us there. From the airport, we went directly to Universal Studios. It was a fun day...but I only got to go on two rides. #expectantmothersshouldnotride

Drinking butterbeer in Hogsmeade

Tuesday, the whole group went to Disneyland. This was the day I was looking forward to the most and it lived up to my expectations. The group only went on one ride I couldn't ride, the Indiana Jones Adventure. I especially loved the Disneyland Forever fireworks and the Paint the Night parade. It was a long day but an awesome one!

The whole group!

I met the Genie while the rest of them were riding the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Gotta have Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bars!

Laura, Andrea, Paolo, me and John

Paint the Night Electrical Parade

Wednesday, John, Mom, Geiner, Marcela and I went back to Disneyland/Disney California Adventure. It was another great day but a bit more relaxed than Tuesday. We got to ride the new Soarin', Soarin' Around the World, and see Frozen: Live at the Hyperion. They all also got to ride the Matterhorn. The World of Color: Celebrate! nighttime show was amazing at Disney California Adventure.

Paradise Pier at California Adventure

Cars Land at California Adventure

Marcela and I after dinner at Café Orleans in Disneyland

I missed the Mickey picture. :(

World of Color: Celebrate! at California Adventure

Thursday, John, Mom, Laura, Paolo, Andrea and I went to Huntington Beach. It was gorgeous but the water was pretty chilly. John was the only one who went all the way in. We met the rest of the group for lunch at Olive Garden and then just hung out at the hotel until the Costa Ricans left for the airport. Saying goodbye to Laura is always so hard!

 

 

Friday, John, Mom, Geiner, Marcela, and I had lunch with Erica and then headed back to the airport. John and I got home about 1am. It was another long day! But, despite all the long days, the trip was wonderful. It's really amazing to me how much Laura and her family are truly family to us.

Lunch with Erica at Portillo's!

Baby Girl's gifts from Tía Lala y Tío Paolo

Tía Marcela and Tío Geiner picked out this adorable outfit for Baby Girl.

The perfect hair accessories from Abuela Zulay

Baby Girl is moving much more now. She even moved enough for John to feel her on the flight to LA! I'm still feeling really good though I started having some swelling in my feet and ankles after the long days in the parks and the long flight. John and I have finally started comparing our name lists...but we have a long way to go before actually picking one!

Our souvenir for Baby Girl, the Disneyland 60th Minnie Mouse

This week starts Month Six in the Mothering Spirit Prayers for Pregnancy. Only three more prayers left after this one...wow!

22 weeks

22 weeks! This is my halfway point: halfway between when we found out we were pregnant and Baby Girl's due date. Woohoo!

We had a pretty uneventful week. Since the Fourth of July was a Monday, I ended up with a 5 day weekend. I got a lot of cleaning and other things done around the apartment. We also had friends over for dinner which was really fun.

I'm feeling Baby Girl move a lot more now. Her movements are still very gentle so John can't feel them yet...but hopefully soon! She's particularly active in the evenings. I also usually feel her before I go to sleep as I can still lay on my stomach. It's such a cool feeling!

There was lots of sad news in our country this week. Two black men died at the hands of police, one in Baton Rouge and one in Minnesota, and 5 police officers were killed and 7 more were injured in Dallas. There's lots of negativity and ignorance floating around on social media. It's upsetting. But, I know so many good people who are doing what they can to help change our country for the better.

At least we get to spend this coming week with some of my very favorite people. Monday morning we fly to LA to meet Laura and her family. I can't wait!

21 weeks

We did a lot this week! John and Keith set up the crib last weekend. I announced that Baby Girl is coming on social media. We celebrated John's birthday. And today, John and I went to Buy Buy Baby to check out strollers and carriers. It was a pretty productive week!

Crib + social media announcement

John's 33rd birthday was on Wednesday. We went out to dinner to celebrate. I also made scotcheroos, John's requested dessert. They're so yummy and so easy. I should make them more often...

I also ran 4 times this week! I've modified my running to do 3-4 minute run intervals with 1-2 minute walk intervals which feels great. I'm hoping I can keep this up!

20 weeks

20 weeks! The halfway mark! Though, really, calling 20 weeks the halfway mark is a little deceiving since you don't really know you're pregnant until you're at least 4 weeks...

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound, the full anatomy ultrasound. I think we were with the ultrasound student and tech for about an hour and a half total. Baby Girl was not being particularly cooperative in giving us a good view of her face so they kept trying to get her to move her hands. Everything looks great! I was especially impressed that we could see her heart beating, even the valves opening and closing! It was amazing! She's measuring exactly where she should be and is currently around 10 ounces which is the 51st percentile. Her brain is measuring a little ahead...smarty pants already! As our midwife said, she has all the parts she's supposed to have and none that she shouldn't.

 

 

Last Saturday we celebrated Cade and Blake's 4th birthday which was great fun! Then, we headed up to Cochrane to celebrate Father's Day with Dad. It was a short trip but really good to be home. We had breakfast with Grandma on Sunday, a delicious turkey dinner, and then John and Mom golfed while I walked along. Dad is doing really well and has graduated from both outpatient PT and OT so he's on his own now until his 10 pound weight restriction gets lifted (hopefully in August).

Cade and Blake (with a cousin and great-grandpa)

Wisconsin Basketball jerseys!

Dad and me in 1984

We also celebrated John's first Father's Day. I gave him a card and a couple of gifts on Friday night. He also got cards from his sister and brother-in-law and my parents. It's so exciting!

I bought the book and the calculus Tiny Toms so long ago...when we first started trying to get pregnant.

We went out to dinner at a new-to-us restaurant, Doc B's Fresh Kitchen, with our friend Lori on Monday. Then Lori and I met up again Tuesday evening. Both nights we walked a lot after dinner...about 3 miles, I think! Whew! Last night I met another friend for dinner which was great. Christie was so excited to hear about the baby...and super helpful too!

19 weeks

We're almost halfway! I'm so excited for my ultrasound and appointment next week! I can't wait to see her!!

This week was pretty uneventful. Last Saturday, we went to a birthday party for our friends' boys who turned 5 and 3 last week. Beforehand Keith and his parents came over to watch the Louis Vuitton America's Cup World Series Chicago sailing races. Unfortunately, there wasn't much wind so they only got one race in...but we could see almost the whole thing from the comfort of our living room! It was pretty awesome...especially since Keith and his parents know a lot about sailing and actually sail themselves so they could explain some stuff to us. Sunday was actually really good sailing weather and John and I saw 4 races!

John and I went to The Sound of Music musical last night. John thought it was good but that the music was kind of boring...but I absolutely loved it! I've never seen it live before and thought it was just great!

Oh, I was featured in a blog post...pretty exciting stuff! Thanks, Sarah Mac!

We're off to Wisconsin for the weekend...woohoo!

18 weeks

I definitely think my bump is noticeable this week! Though probably not to a stranger...

I'm feeling really good. I think I'm starting to feel baby girl moving sometimes which is really cool. I can't wait until her movements are noticeable enough for John to feel too.

This week I started working on our registry and thinking about what we all need. It's a little overwhelming. We did get a free crib though. Our friends were looking to give theirs away and gave it to us for nothing...mattress included!

Hmm...what else?!? We went to the USA v Costa Rica Copa America match at Soldier Field on Tuesday. Geiner and Marcela met us at our apartment and we walked to Soldier Field together. Keith, Meg, and Geoff met us there. The US won 4-0 so while it was an exciting game with lots of goals, it wasn't a close one. Geiner and Marcela were disappointed.

It was the first time we saw Geiner and Marcela since telling them the news! Tía Marcela brought baby's first gift:

John and I went to see The SpongeBob Musical last night. It was part of our Broadway in Chicago subscription series. While it definitely wasn't a show I would have paid for by itself, it was better than I expected it to be. The performers and staging were really great.

Week 18 also marks a new prayer: Month 5!