Recently I wrote an essay about gun violence in response to the bloodbath in Buffalo. Then, less than two weeks later, an even deadlier massacre took place, in Uvalde, TX. Both senseless massacres have aroused nationwide sorrow and rage, as well as demands for better gun laws.
In the wake of the University of Texas tower shooting, President Lyndon Johnson called for gun regulation and signed the Gun Control Act of 1968. In the 56 years since the tower massacre, the US has passed hardly any gun restrictions; most of these, such as a ban on assault rifles, have later been lifted.
You may have heard the saying that for every thousand people hacking at the branches of evil, you’re lucky to find even one hacking at the roots. We really need to go after the roots of gun violence. One is our infatuation with guns, tied to our wild-west cowboy culture. We give kids toy guns and encourage them to have make-believe shootouts. We glorify guns in our movies, comic books, TV shows, even pop music. Our leaders and media preach the gospel of the Almighty Gun.
Another root is white supremacy, intertwined with toxic masculinity. Many of those who carried out the bloodiest mass shootings acted out of hate – the Orlando bloodbath took place at an LGBTQ club, the multiple shootings in Atlanta in March of 2021 targeted mostly Asian-Americans, the El Paso Walmart killer went after Hispanics. The horror in Buffalo brought white supremacist “replacement” paranoia front and center; this idiotic theory needs an essay of its own.
We need to demystify guns, knock them off their gore-soaked altar and respect them for what they are. The Swiss do not have mass shootings the way we do because they respect guns. Having a rifle for sport or a handgun for personal protection is one thing, but there is no reason for a private citizen to own a military weapon.
Typical pro-gun arguments include “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” True, but guns make it a lot easier to kill, and to slaughter people wholesale. Can you imagine the Las Vegas shooter assaulting the crowd with a bow and arrow? Or the Parkland killer hacking his way through the school with a steak knife? Or the Tree of Life Synagogue attacker going after his victims with an axe?
Another is “Gun laws don’t stop gun violence.” We have laws against murder and homicide, but people still kill. We have laws against theft, but people still steal. We have laws against drunk driving, but people still get behind the wheel when they are half seas over. Et cetera.
We need to stand up to the vicious, powerful bullies in the gun lobby. We need to pass common-sense gun laws in this country, such as background checks, banning private ownership of assault rifles, red-flag laws, and the like. They won’t stop every evildoer, but they will definitely reduce the carnage. This is why we need to get our behinds to the polls and vote for candidates who will listen to us, the voters who are fed up with gun violence.
We must never give in to “learned helplessness,” which is what the conservatives want us to do. The suffragettes never gave up, which is why women in the US and UK – and elsewhere – can vote. The civil-rights activists never gave up, which is why people of color can drink from the same water fountains as whites and sit anywhere they like on a bus. The abolitionists never gave up, which is why slavery is no longer legal.
To all the right-wingers and the mouthpieces of the firearms industry: You can take your empty, insincere thoughts and prayers and shove ’em.
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