I am a first generation American. I love our constitution, bill of rights and pledge of the allegiance. It is the fabric that keeps us all together on the same page building this great nation. It is our common understanding regardless of where we live in our fifty states. It was well thought out and has lasted us until the twenty first century.

My family is from Colombia. For as long as I have been alive it has been in a civil war. Before that my great-grandparents saw the country divided. I am not unlike most Latinos who families came to the U.S. not only for economic opportunity but to escape violence.  A violence we never speak about but that has created deep scars that we carry with us. Distrust, fear, living within insular communities. Never talking about the disappeared, kidnapped, and murdered. This is why the 2nd amendment confuses me. My friends say this is why I should understand it. That if the government holds all the weapons it can oppress the citizenry. Weapons equal freedom.

When you are in pain due to violence, guns don't seem like a solution. Violence at its' root slowly takes its' time. It bubbles and heats until it is incendiary. Then with a bang, your life will never be the same. We too often take a look at the bang and not what caused the fire to start.

No amendment in our constitution has a blank check. I cannot yell fire in a crowded theater. We could all benefit to invest in violence prevention and gun safety training. None of that will take away from our rights while at the same time ensuring we are safe and protected. Violence prevention is hard work. It does not come easy and it takes time. Time none of us has to loose.

This post is part of the project, "Sorrow, Anger, ACTION! - A Gathering of Voices Against Gun Violence," organized by MomsRising, PICO Network, UltraViolet, Children's Defense Fund and the National Network to End Domestic Violence.