Gun Violence - What Can Be Done?
Following the recent massacre that brutally left seventeen
bright children dead in the hallways of their school in Parkland, Florida, the
response on various issues has been predictably impassioned and debated in
depth. But, this time feels different. Why? I
believe it’s because we have now seen two separate tipping points; tipping
points on both end of the spectrum, both in terms of gun violence/mass
shootings and in terms of action on problem solving. Let me explain.
A good friend, Dr. Alex McDonald, is
one who is actively trying to do his part as he was involved with the American
Academy of Family Physicians as they joined other frontline physicians,
including the American Psychiatric Association, in a public call for the
government to act on gun violence, in large part by labeling it a public health
epidemic.1
An epidemic? Many
people will be skeptical about the use of that word. Merriam-Webster defines an epidemic as excessively
prevalent and/or characterized by very widespread growth or extent. So, yes, it is fair to call gun violence a
public health epidemic, especially when you compare it to other accepted epidemics. For example, the swine flu epidemic in 2015
killed 2,035 people and the Ebola virus epidemic killed somewhere north of
11,300 people from 2013-2016.2 Meanwhile, there are close to 13,000 gun
HOMICIDES per year in the US alone.3
Furthermore, looking at the data from the number of mass shootings4,5,
and the number of deaths and injuries6 from mass shootings, it is easy
to see that that there has been an exponential rise over the past few years. 2016 tied 2012 with the most ever mass
shooting fatalities to that point, then 2017 saw a 61% increase over that, and 2018
is on pace to continue the trend, which is, again, part of what constitutes an
epidemic. There are many charts that are
easy enough to find, but I’ve included a couple for reference. Yes, there have been spikes for a year here
and there in the past, as you would expect, but never have we seen a period
like the one we are in now and the trend is clear, which you can see easier if
you do a best fit curve or smooth it out by mapping different lengths of time. And, this doesn’t even take into account thwarted
attacks such as we saw just last week in Vermont.7
This got me thinking of someone else who talked about
epidemics; Malcolm Gladwell, in his book ‘The Tipping Point’. The premise of his book is that there are epidemics
in many aspects of life, which ‘are a function of the people who transmit
infectious agents, the infectious agent itself, and the environment in which
the infectious agent is operating’ and that each
epidemic has a tipping point where factors, sometimes seemingly small, cause
ideas, products, messages, or behaviors to spread just like viruses do.
So, what has been the tipping point? Some say violent video games, movies, and
television, while others say mental illness, or public security. Sure, those may play a small factor and, without
a doubt, there has to be more done in terms of mental health. But, those have been around for a long time
and other countries have the same access, illnesses, and security without
anywhere close to the United States’ level of gun violence so it’s got to be deeper
than that. We must look at what is different,
what has changed, and what has caused that tipping point. Here are a few that I see:
·
Rise in popularity of social media platforms
·
Rise in the prevalence of hate groups
·
Number of and access to weapons and bullets
Most of these perpetrators have a warped sense of striving
for infamy. Sadly, the media gives
perpetrators their fifteen minutes of fame and many in the public even remember
their names. That concept of fame is combined
with support that can be found online for just about any sick fetish along with
the rise in various forms of social media connecting these people to both
supporters and those that anger them giving these, often otherwise outcasted
individuals, platforms that empower them.
Most perpetrators have been found to have posted clues online or to have
been frequent visitors to certain sites.
In addition, in this same timeframe, there has been a 20% rise in hate
groups in the US8, with a rise in number each year. I don’t think this is a coincidence. While not all mass shooters are associated
with a hate group, it certainly often plays a factor and the similarity of the underlying
psyche shouldn’t be ignored. For example,
the last one I can remember in my area involved the killing of Muslim students. Finally, the number of guns in the US along
with the ease of access to these weapons and bullets is far greater than
anywhere else in the world.9 Further
along these lines, most perpetrators of mass shootings have more than one gun and
a frighteningly large number of bullets at the time of the shooting.10 I believe this mix has created the tipping
point causing the spike in gun violence over the past few years.
But, like I said, the reaction and discussion after this latest
tragedy feels different and I think we’re seeing a tipping point in that respect,
as well. For too long we have seen our
own citizens killed with no substantial attempts at solving the problem. So, what has changed?
·
Less time between tragedies
·
Exposure of lobbyist influence and political
hypocrisy
·
Children victims/survivors organizing and speaking up
Part of the change is that the increase in tragedies has not
allowed enough time to pass that scars have formed. This enables the momentum to keep going and
makes the argument that ‘now is not the time to talk about it’ sound as ridiculous
as it is, while at the same time continually increasing the number of people
either directly or indirectly affected by the violence. Also, after each tragedy that results in
inaction, we find out more about the amount of money lobbyists such as the NRA
spend, which politicians are in their pocket, and how politicians have voted on
different measures. This is important because
the more exposure there is, the more likely there will be change as it will be more
difficult for these politicians to win votes as public anger builds. Finally, the biggest difference we’re seeing this
time around is that a group of very intelligent, passionate, and motivated young
survivors have exposed the raw emotion and heartbreak that gun violence has
caused in a way that most of the public have not seen in the past. It’s harder for leaders to push them aside
without looking cruel, and it’s resulted in more media coverage, top politicians
listening, and several politicians making promises of steps that have been ignored
until now as they strive to ride this wave.
These kids have forced Congress’ and the President’s hands. Even if these new proposals don’t pass now, they
won’t be forgotten the next time we see a tragedy. So, one way or another, I believe we’ve seen
a tipping point in which action will finally start taking place.
Now, what action should be taken is the million dollar
question. As mentioned, I fully support improvements
in mental health. This would involve
research, care, and restrictions to guns for those with certain kinds of mental
illness. Arming teachers is definitely
NOT something I support. My parents were
school teachers and I went to a public school system, contrary to most of the politicians
proposing this. Besides the disturbing fact
that teachers are expected to pay for their own supplies but it’s being
proposed that they be supplied with guns or get bonuses if they carry, I’ve
seen and known of many student/teacher altercations that could have been
catastrophic if the teacher had a gun to name just one of the many problems with
this proposal. However, I do support
armed guards or veterans at schools along with metal detectors. I wish we didn’t need them, but I think it
would help. Obviously, the FBI could and
should have done a better job in the Parkland situation and they need to
address those shortcomings. I also
support closer scrutiny and research into markers from social media use, online
site, and hate groups. I do NOT support
repealing the second amendment. I do NOT
support taking the average person’s guns away.
I do support increasing the age limits for gun ownership, assault weapon
limitations, bump stock bans, and longer waiting periods to name a few
others. Other options such as taxing
bullets, limiting the number of bullets purchased within a certain amount of time,
limiting the size of magazines, restrictions on certain felons, stalkers, or domestic
violence offenders can be looked into.
There are a lot of common sense actions that can be
undertaken if only people are willing to.
Will they stop every shooting tragedy?
Of course not. It’s extremely
rare a solution is 100% effective. But
saying things like ‘bad people will always find a way’ or ‘guns don’t kill
people, people kill people’ is completely ignorant. Our laws and criminal system is pretty darn
good at keeping a safe and efficient society.
And, while people may still find ways to commit murders and/or get their
hands on assault weapons, why make it easy for them? If it saves even a few lives, it makes a big
difference and can be done without harming anyone. That sounds like a simple win-win. On the other hand, such things as arguing
about the definition and number of mass shootings is irrelevant and does
nothing to address the problem. Whether
it’s three or four killed at a time or five or eighteen shootings this year, it’s
too many. Trust me, I understand the thrill
of firearms. It’s a rush to hit a target
or clay pigeon. But, weapons that serve
no real purpose but have been used to kill human beings should be heavily
regulated at minimum. We pass important
safety laws and regulations in so many other cases, we spend billions of
dollars protecting us from things that don’t cause a single percentage of the damage
of gun violence, we know it makes a difference.
To say ‘I feel badly but just don’t know what can be done’ is false. It’s obvious what can be done, we just have
to be brave enough to do it. The biggest
argument I see against these points is along the lines of the second amendment
and the feeling that these actions would somehow weaken the amendment with the
potential to lead to the degradation of our constitution. However, ensuring safe limitations within the
spirit of the second amendment, just as has been done with the first amendment
is doable and makes sense. Our
forefathers were smart and were problem solvers. Their writing of the constitution was in part
to ensure and fair and safe democratic society.
For example, the idea behind freedom of religion was in large part because
they saw the internal strife and loss of life that had occurred in other countries
without that freedom. They would not merely
sit on their hands as more people die in their country from a single factor
than all wars combined. There’s a reason
they called for a ‘well regulated’ militia.
Listening to the fear mongering, inaccurate, and downright
disturbing speech by the NRA Chief Executive, Wayne LaPierre, yesterday brought
all of this into more of a focus. No, I
don’t hate the second amendment or individual freedom. No, I’m not trying to form a socialist
society. I couldn’t care less about what
political affiliation you are. I care
about doing what’s right and finding ways to combat an epidemic that has led to
a massive loss of innocent life. To claim
that people trying to do so are simply exploiting the tragedy is ludicrous and
shows the depth that some will go to in order to push their agenda.
I applaud Trump for having the listening session and stating
support for the bump stock ban and age limit increase. However, we need to see real action from him,
congress, among others and hopefully we will.
Just along the points I’ve made about what caused this tipping point,
take these actions into consideration and then consider the momentum we’re
seeing now:
·
Trump’s only gun legislation to this point has
been to REVOKE restrictions and gun checks for the mentally ill11
·
The Trump administration REMOVED a program grant
at UNC after it had already been awarded that studied anti-extremism and white
supremacy.12
·
A bill addressing bump stocks was introduced
into congress after the Las Vegas concert massacre with the supposed support of
the NRA and some politicians with the obvious expectation that it would go
nowhere, which it did.
·
Trump has called for an assault weapons ban,
longer waiting periods, and bump stock bans in the past only to reverse his
stances and/or do nothing13
·
Trump’s budget proposal calls for CUTS to programs
aimed at school safety, responding to school violence, and research into gun
violence14
THIS MUST CHANGE
Yes, we have seen a tipping point that has caused a spike in
gun violence and mass shootings, especially over the past few years. But, I’m fairly confident and hopeful that we’ve
also now seen the tipping point, or are at least very close to one, in which we
will finally start to see some important steps taken by our leaders to make a multi-faceted
approach to combating this epidemic. It
falls on all of us to continue the pressure and accept the fact that we CAN create
a safer nation around improvements to mental health, public safety, and gun control within the boundaries of our constitution.
