Ho-hum… another day, another mass shooting in America. We must look so ridiculous to our brethren across the Western world. Not just because we have a Day-Glo orange, pompous pile of crap as a presidential candidate, but mainly because we continue to send out “thoughts and prayers” to all of those involved in these weekly mass murders while doing absolutely nothing to stop them in any way.

I cannot help but think that maybe the man upstairs has turned down his hearing aid by now due to the fact that he alone cannot personally write laws—men sometimes actually have to do things for themselves. Perhaps he listened after the first five shootings­—maybe the first 10: maybe even the first 15­—but He had to have given up on us after a while. When He saw that the politicians would much rather line their pockets than actually protect the American public in any way.

For me personally, His giving up on us could have potentially really sucked. I tend to believe in God and Jesus and it has served me well in my life as a soldier. A soldier who has been overseas in some of the worst conditions a human could ever face. However, one of the times I probably talked to Him most was November 5, 2009, and ironically enough, He probably already had tuned all of us out.

I had just stepped out of my car at the Soldier Readiness Center at Fort Hood, Texas­—having only been back from Iraq for about a week—when Nidal Hasan opened fire inside. The first group of my friends was already in the building and luckily my soldier and I were running late. We survived.

Thirteen other soldiers, who were on time, did not. The next week, President Obama came to talk to us and spoke about the need for better gun control and sent up prayers for the victims. Who knows if the prayers were heard. The calls for gun control were definitely not – and still have not been.

Hasan used only a semi-automatic pistol. I say only because it could have been much worse. Just like the recent attack at Orlando’s Pulse Nightclub, more and more mass murders are being carried out with assault rifles – namely the surprisingly easy to acquire AR-15. An AR-15 was used in Newtown to slaughter first graders, in Aurora to murder movie goers, in Roseburg to kill nine at Umpqua Community College and just recently in December in San Bernardino to kill 14 at a holiday party.

The rifle is modeled off of the military’s M-16 assault rifle and it is a favorite of the National Rifle Association, who has lobbied mightily against the assault weapons ban in order to keep it on the market.

I carried an M-16 into war in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is made only to kill people—I should know. That is what I went there to do. I never once switched the weapon to burst, or anything close to the rate of fire that these killers are shooting at innocent people. In fact, I never once fired my M-16 into a crowd of people or in an uncontrolled, automatic firing type of way.

The rifle that the NRA thinks every American should be allowed to own was carried by yours truly into combat in Baghdad, Kabul, Fallujah and many other places that you may have only seen on television. It was probably fired a total of five or six single shots with precision, the same that any rifle ­— not automatic — could do. The way you would need to fire if you were, say, hunting or maybe even protecting your family from an intruder.

So what would persuade politicians to continue to “pray” for victims yet sit back and watch this happen time and time again?

Well, $922,000 to Senator Mitch McConnell, $35,000 to House Speaker Paul Ryan and $65,300 to Senator Ted Cruz from the NRA, just to start with.

I wonder if they can explain to anyone why a rifle that you cannot hunt with — the meat would be inedible when filled with bullets from an automatic weapon — and that is rarely used as it should be in a warzone is needed in America?

Probably not.

They are too busy sending up “thoughts and prayers” to the victims of yet another mass murder — and probably being ignored by the God who is sick of their inaction.

Jason Green may be reached at [email protected].