John Wayne was shot and killed in five films: "The Fighting SeaBees" (1944), "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), "The Alamo" (1960), "The Cowboys" (1972), and "The Shootist" (1976). He bounced back, ready to star in another drama, after all but his last film, "The Shootist."

That only happens in La-La Land.

No one comes back from a gun-related homicide — not the victim and not those that know and love him or her. Tragically, that's an ever-increasing number of folks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020 firearm deaths reached the highest number ever in America: 45,222, an increase of 35%, and more than half were suicides.

In 2021, 20,726 more died from homicides, unintentional deaths, and other types of gun violence (not including suicides). The country also experienced 693 mass shootings (with four or more injuries), according to the Gun Violence Archive.

This has to stop. As individuals, parents, communities, cities, states, and a country, we have to create a world in which there is overwhelming social stigma against using guns for interpersonal violence.

We need a world where those arrested for domestic violence, for violent misdemeanors, and those with mental health issues are prevented from licensing a firearm; where mental health care is readily available and there is outreach to people of all demographics, helping defuse and re-channel frustration and rage.

Education, reduction of poverty, effective intervention against gangs, and firearm education are essential.

Let's all pledge to make this a safer country that protects and cares for each and every member of society.