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The Americans are fed up – and they will not tolerate it anymore.
You have seen it again and again. An inappropriate person, using a gun that he should never have, cuts the hair of ordinary people who do their job. The dead bodies this time – from a grocery store and a primary school – were mostly children and the elderly.
The first shocking event, a massacre at a Buffalo grocery store, killed 10 people. According to one resident, the store was the “village drinker”. Among those killed was a journalist who often writes about gun violence.
Next: An 18-year-old killed 21 people, 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school in Uwalde, Texas. But first he warmed his finger on the trigger by punching his grandmother in the face. Yes, of course, he had mental problems. Anyone who takes an assault rifle in a public place with the intent to kill can be found somewhere in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
If my reading of social media is correct, public outrage seems to have finally reached a crescendo, which could lead to change. People are more angry than ever about the growing violence and lack of action. One can only bear the sight of so many dead children. From the first mass shooting at a school in Stockton, California, in 1989, we had front row seats to 13 more massacres. But these are just spectacular. There have been at least 188 school shootings since 1970, according to a New York Times analysis of data from the K-12 School Shooting Database. We have become a nation with a free-spirited rhetoric about pain and loss. “Thoughts and prayers”, an empty expression of condolences from overuse, can also be “ham and cheese”. The names of our slaughterhouses have become known as celebrities of the same name: Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland – and now Uvalde.
And nothing ever happens. Several public figures are outraged by the performance. Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is now running for governor of Texas, tried to win a press conference, while Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and others provided up-to-date information on the massacre.
Beto, darling, time is everything, and yours was far away.
President Biden strained his vocal cords as he asked, “When in God’s name are we going to do what we all know we need to do?” No kidding. As ineffective as it may be, it has proved useless it was expressing what most feel at the moment. When exactly did we lose our minds? Will it be different this time?
Perhaps. There are several things that can be done to reduce bloodshed: more in-depth scrutiny of the past; “red flag” laws that allow law enforcement officers to seize weapons by court order from someone who is considered dangerous to themselves or others; closing the gun shows loopholes; and perhaps a ban on children buying weapons of attack. All this would help.
And everyone is embarrassed at best, although several Republicans, including Sen. Lindsay O. Graham (South Carolina), Marco Rubio (Florida) and Rick Scott (Florida), have suggested they could lean toward legislation that is Red flag. This is hardly a demonstration of political courage, but it is more than anything – and it seems to be the measure that could bring the greatest benefit.
More than half of Americans want some sensible reforms. The vast majority, including 69 percent of NRA members, support universal scrutiny. Instead, we only get small, gradual tweaks here and there.
When primary school children are vulnerable to mass murderers, what is the point of the government?
Several pieces of legislation pass through Congress, but an evenly divided Senate is a challenge. A super-majority of 60 votes will be needed to overcome the filibuster. At different times, Republicans may feel bold to hold their ground. But after these two carnivals of violence, even they feel the winds change.
Republicans need some time this weekend on Remembrance Day in front of the mirror. Between their support for the possible abolition of abortion rights by the Supreme Court and their inaction regarding the slaughter of children with weapons that should be banned, they are on unstable ground.
As a first step, we need to change the name of the mission from arms control to gun safety, as suggested by sociologist Frank Lunz. “Control” is a trigger for resistance when we really talk about safety. Words matter. Perhaps some people could have been more open to compromise and change if they had not been immediately put on the defensive.
Meanwhile, the predictable constitutional arguments have become offensive. Yes, the founding fathers were concerned about another British invasion and made it possible for the early colonists to arm themselves in defense of their country. But those who wrote the Second Amendment in the 18th century could not imagine how their perfectly reasonable intentions would be distorted 235 years later – or how 18-year-olds would be able to buy and carry assault weapons designed for modern combat. field, grade school classrooms.
There is a whole galaxy of difference between a musket and an AK-15. It is time to remove these tools of mass murder from the market once and for all.
We may not stop the next massacre, but we can stop doing it so easily.
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