Every time there’s a major mass shooting, especially in a school (I said “major” to differentiate from all the “minor” mass shootings we don’t even notice anymore), there is a lot of hand-wringing. “We’ve got to do something to stop this!” people say.

Well, let’s be honest. Nothing’s going to happen. We’re on the side of the slippery slope which heads only toward more and more guns, fewer regulations, and a whole lot more gun deaths. It’s not going to stop. So just quit your bellyaching. This is the country We the Majority of the People have chosen to be. Basically, we value gun ownership more than we value human life. I know that’s a hard statement, but it’s true, at least in the political realm. The political will to place lives over guns just does not exist. Every proposed regulatory tweak dies.

I thought bump stocks was the no-brainer for which action would be taken. Bump stocks serve NO purpose other than to turn legal weapons into full-auto killing machines. I was SURE Congress would take action. I really was. But the NRA doesn’t want ANY kind of regulations about guns. And so, bump stocks remain legal. Expect them to show up in a future school shooting. The Florida shooter fired 150 rounds. With a bump stock, he could have fired 1500+ rounds in the same amount of time.

If we don’t have the fortitude to outlaw bump stocks, which should be a hands-down clear thing, then don’t expect ANY kind of action to rein in gun violence. Cry all you want, but it’s just not gonna happen. I’m a gun owner, and I’m not in favor of banning guns, but there are other things we can do (and which other countries are doing successfully). But with the NRA in charge, NOTHING WILL BE DONE. But go ahead and have your rant with each mass shooting, if it makes you feel better.

So here’s what lies ahead for America. The NRA talks about the slippery slope toward a time when the government will confiscate all guns. Well, that’s not gonna happen. We’re on the OTHER side of the slippery slope, with gun regulations become more relaxed everywhere you look. As we continue down this slope, here’s what will happen in the years ahead.

— We’ll soon have nationwide concealed carry based on the lowest common denominator–meaning, like Indiana, no requirements for obtaining a CC license.

— The party of “states rights” will overrule whatever restrictions your state or town has in place. States with strong guns laws–California, Illinois, New York–will be forced into the same leniency of Wyoming or Florida, because it’ll be FEDERAL law now.

— Open carry will become common-meaning, people with holstered pistols or AR-15s slung over their shoulders will be a common sight at your local Target. And then comes constitutional carry–you don’t even need any kind of license to buy or own or carry a gun.

— All regulations involving silencers will go away. They’ll become common, and will show up in mass shootings.

— Restrictions on full-auto weapons will not be renewed, opening whole new markets for the gun manufacturers (who will profusely reward the NRA). Full-auto weapons will become the preferred gun for mass shootings, greatly increasing the death toll.

— With more guns available and fewer restrictions, there will be MORE mass shootings, especially at vulnerable places–schools, churches, shopping centers, nursing homes. Anything that involves a large gathering of people will become a target–concerts, parades, athletic events, etc. More suicides and accidental deaths, too.

— The death toll from guns will continue increasing. Finland is the European country with the highest rate of gun deaths-3 for every 100,000 people. In the USA, it’s 10 for every 100,000 people. Don’t expect it to stay at 10.

As gun violence escalates, we’ll hear the same talking points we hear with every mass shooting. That the only way to stop it is for more people to have guns. That we don’t need more laws, we just need to enforce the laws already on the books. That it’s all about mental illness. Yada yada yada. And with every election, we’ll hear that the government is ready to pounce and take away all of our guns…even though the government is owned by the NRA. It’s your constitutional right to keep drinking that Kool-Aid.

So, more mass shootings, fewer and eventually no regulations, guns everywhere–that is America’s future. I’ll give it 20 years. That’s the clear slippery slope we’re on, and I see nothing to stop it.

I DARE you to convince me otherwise.

Husband: “Here’s my offer. I’ll stop beating the kids, if you’ll let me buy a new flatscreen TV for my man cave.”

Wife: “How are those two things even related? Besides, you promised–over and over and OVER–that your friend Morty would buy the TV for you.”

Husband: “I asked Morty, and he said no. So what can I do? We need to buy it ourselves.”

Wife: “So, if I write the check, you’ll stop beating the kids?”

Husband: “For now, I’ll stop. Believe me. It’s a win win.”

This is kind of how I view the President’s offer–that he’ll make a deal on DACA only if Congress makes the American people fund the border wall, which he always insisted Mexico would pay for.

Today, Pastor Kevin preached about Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Acts 9 tells how Saul, with the approval from authorities, was finding Christians–men and women–and dragging them off to prison. During our discussion time, Kevin asked what we thought Saul was thinking during those three days he sat in Damascus, blind, after hearing Jesus say, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

I didn’t enter into the discussion, but here’s what I was thinking. Did Saul think about the human cost of what he had been doing? Of ripping mothers and fathers away from their children? Of taking a man or woman from his/her spouse? Of disrupting livelihoods and causing hardship for the people who depended on them? Of the mistreatment these people experienced while incarcerated? Of the fear un-arrested Christians lived with every day?

My mind went in that direction because I’m still extremely troubled by what happened last weekend in Detroit, when ICE swooped in and arrested scores of Chaldean Christians to deport them back to Iraq. What Saul did 2000 years ago was echoed in Detroit–families being ripped apart, people living in fear, children traumatized, livelihoods disrupted, extended family members forced to seek recourse where little recourse existed because of unbending policies. Tears, lots of tears, and anguish. Hundreds more Chaldean Christians have been targeted for deportation. Some have already been sent back to Iraq.

I don’t know what happened to those persons Saul imprisoned. How long were they incarcerated? What kind of sentences did they receive? Were some executed? What happened to their children? To their businesses? To the extended family who depended on them? Did they have any legal recourse?

Those folks in Detroit, like the countless others ICE has arrested during the last few months across the country, have practically no recourse. They are in the ICE system, and they will be deported. I’ve also discovered that, Christians or not, they have practically no sympathy from conservative evangelicals like me.

As these Christians are returned to Iraq, we can be pretty sure that at least some of them will be killed there. Sometimes crucified. Yes, that happens in Iraq. In America, they have freedom to practice (like me) their Christian faith; in Iraq, they can be killed for it. Since 2003, the number of Christians in Iraq has plummeted from 1.4 million to 200,000. This is what we are sending men and women, mothers and fathers, back to. This is what people said they elected the president to do.

As an American, I will be partly responsible for their deaths. I’m not okay with that.

I’ve been following the sad case of Roberto Beristain, an undocumented man from South Bend, Ind., who was separated from his wife and three daughters–all American citizens–on February 6 because of Donald Trump’s dispassionate, devoid-of-humanity orders. For two months, he was shuttled around to detention facilities in six different states, while a loving family could do little but try to keep track of him. Then, at 10 pm last Tuesday night, he was dropped off at the border at El Paso, and he walked into Mexico.

President Obama was tough on illegal immigrants, earning the nickname Deporter in Chief. But he injected discretion and humanity into his actions. Trump removed all of that. I knew he would be tougher on undocumented people, but never did I dream that he would tear asunder families. Like he did with the Beristains.

The way things work, the family will never be reunited. At least, not in the United States.

This should not happen in America, and to American families.

Beristain came to the US–yes, illegally–in 1998. He met his wife, Helen, in Fort Wayne, Ind., where I live. They were married in 2001, relocated in Mishawaka, and brought three daughters into the world, all of whom are now teenagers. And US citizens. Roberto is owner of Eddie’s Steak Shed and employs 20 people.

A mistake by immigration officials back in 2000 got him classified incorrectly, making it difficult to get a green card. They’ve tried to fix it over the years, but no luck. He got by on a work permit, and followed all the laws. He has no criminal record. Everyone describes him as a perfect citizen…except for not being, technically, a citizen.

President Trump: this is dispicable. And I see no indication that you care one iota.

Breaking up this family doesn’t keep anybody safe. It doesn’t protect American workers. It’s not a matter of expelling a “bad hombre.” It’s just a rule. A rigid policy.

This is only one such case. It’s getting press attention because the wife was a vocal Trump supporter. She never imagined Trump would rip apart her family.

I realize that many supposedly family-values Christian will rationalize ways to applaude this, and spout things like, “Your sins will find you out.” Some are Facebook friends. This saddens me, but not nearly as much as I’m saddened by what the Beristain family is suffering, as a loving father has been torn from their lives because of our President is playing to his base.