Even before last Saturday’s mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, gun violence had emerged as a major issue leading up to the 2018
midterm elections. Our country’s recent history is fraught with a cycle of
tragic mass shootings that stir public outcry for better firearm regulation,
only for the outrage to wane with time, and with it any efforts to pass new
laws… until the next mass shooting.
Recently, though, a more sustained push for gun legislation
reform has taken hold, perhaps because the frequency and intensity of mass
shooting incidents has increased. The most visible advocates for gun violence
prevention are survivors of a February 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman
Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, during which a former student used an
AR-17 semi-automatic rifle to kill 17 students and staff and injure 17 others.
In the wake of the incident, students and their families organized protests andother events to draw attention to the issue of gun violence prevention. They
also founded organizations advocating for the passage of legislation that would
make it harder to obtain large-capacity semi-automatic weapons. One such entity
is the Families vs. Assault Rifles Political Action Committee (FAMSVSARPAC),
whose stated aim is to keep military-grade weapons out of schools, chiefly by
backing political candidates who support legislation banning assault rifles
from the general public. As their name suggests, it has pitted the students and
their families squarely against the National Rifle Association (NRA). FAMSVSARPAC
president Jeff Kasky, whose son Cameron is one of the students at the forefront
of post-Parkland activism, contrasts the “field and stream NRA” of old with the
current “Call of Duty” NRA. He notes
that though individual NRA members often respond to polls indicating their
support of background checks, waiting periods, and other regulation of
firearms, “NRA leadership adamantly oppose any legislation that impacts theon-demand availability of deadly weapons of all kinds, which would slow downsales and bring down revenues for their constituent gun manufacturers”. Moreover, the NRA has weaponized the Second
Amendment, religious messaging, and the general concept of patriotism in order
to stoke fear and thereby increase support for candidates who promise not to
address firearm regulation while in office.
Though the Parkland shooting has prompted more restrictive gun legislation in certain states, federal laws to the same effect have been notoriously elusive. In 2013, the Senate failed to pass a bill
to increase background check requirements. Viewed at the time as “low-hanging
fruit” of the gun-control legislation forest, the bill would have required background checks at gun shows and for internet sales, without imposing them for “private transactions” between family and friends. Although crafted as a
bipartisan compromise, the political environment at the time prevented certain Senate
Democrats from supporting the law. Specifically, several Democrats from
Republican-leaning states were up for reelection in 2014 and feared that coming
out in favor of gun regulations – even those as minimal as laid out in the bill
– would doom their chances of reelection. This outcome illustrates the
insidious grip held by the NRA on our political process: the organization has
rather handily achieved its legislative objectives while bankrolling only a minority of elected officials and accurately representing the views of a small swath of Americans.
As a result of this fraught political climate, other groups
have emerged to advocate for apolitical, community-based approaches aimed at
reducing gun violence. Speaking at a recent event on Long Island, Sandy Hook
Promise founder Nicole Hockley used drunk driving as an analogy. While laws
against driving under the influence of alcohol were necessary in deterring the
harmful behavior, marked decreases in the number of drunk driving incidents only occurred after several decades of advocacy for a change in culture among at risk groups (namely, teens first experimenting with alcohol). Hockley urged ignoring people “at the extremes” of the gun
control debate, and fighting apathy amongst those in the middle who are
disillusioned about ensuring safety in our communities. To this end, a lot of
Sandy Hook Promise’s programs aim to address at-risk behaviors, the signs of
which often manifest in middle school and high school. They provide training
for teachers and others to recognize the signals of someone in crisis, before
they obtain a gun and/or attempt to use it. Sandy Hook Promise also advocates
for anonymous reporting systems, whereby individuals can notify local
authorities of suspicious activity without compromising their identities. When
it comes to addressing harmful antisocial behavior, the organization advocates
for disciplinary methods that address the underlying causes in a
non-confrontational way, instead of merely pushing students away with
suspension or expulsion. Another program called Start With Hello trains
children to interact with their peers in a way that reduces bullying and social
isolation. Teaching children to reach out and include others prevents
vulnerable kids from withdrawing from society, a necessary first step in
avoiding the seclusion that can set certain individuals on a path toward the
commission of mass violence. Sandy Hook Promise advocates for acceptance,
community, and openness, in sharp contrast with the NRA’s individualistic, fear-based methods of persuasion.
The foregoing yields a mixed message with respect to the election. Voters should visit gunsensevoter.org to learn
which candidates in their local races will advocate for gun control
legislation, and cast their ballots accordingly. Overcoming the NRA’s influence
will require electing a sufficient majority of officials not under their
financial purview, who are thereby willing to push for more restrictive firearms laws. That this has proven to be a difficult hurdle demonstrates that Election Day is merely a small part of the necessary action. The rest of the year, it is imperative that we work toward building
communities in which children receive support and attention that prevents them
from straying onto a path of dangerous behavior. In addition to overcoming the
apathy that sets in between high-fatality mass shootings, we must push back
against societal forces that weaken the bonds between neighbors and classmates.
Voting for #gunsense is only the beginning. Acting for
#gunsense needs to be something we do every day.
