By Watt Childress
My people have served bereaved families for over a century. Papaw co-founded a funeral home in Kingsport, Tennessee. Mom grew up around the business, and Dad started working there shortly before I was born. So death was part of my everyday upbringing.
At the dinner table, my siblings and I were often reminded how deeply it hurts when someone dies, especially in the wake of an unexpected tragedy. Papaw said the hardest funerals were those involving the sudden deaths of children. This never stops being the greatest fear for parents, even when our children become adults.
Jennifer and I snapped to attention early yesterday when our oldest called us from her home in south Minneapolis, worried because our youngest lives within blocks of the second fatal shooting by ICE. Videos from these horrible events show an unimaginable use of lethal force by our government. If this can happen without investigations and accountability, nobody is safe in our country.
U.S. leaders have the duty to insure that government spending provides for domestic security. ICE is doing the opposite in Minneapolis, at enormous cost to taxpayers. New funding for them runs out at the end of January. God forbid our leaders send any more public dollars to an agency that fails to comply with our Constitution, due process, and basic human rights.
May shared grief for God’s children motivate America’s prevention of more tragedies. Let’s call our leaders.
Tell them we don’t want more needless funerals. Stop subsidizing the deaths of our loved ones.
Senators for states of our family members:
TN Senator Marsha Blackburn 202-224-3344
TN Senator Bill Hagerty 202-224-4944
MN Senator Amy Klobuchar 202-224-3244
MN Senator Tina Smith 202-224-5641
OR Senator Ron Wyden 202-224-5244
OR Senator Jeff Merkley 202-224-3753
Other Senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm