Written 2022: ROBB ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Formula for world leadership in the number of children slaughtered at schools or supermarkets or sitting in cars or attending a party or simply walking down the street: ready, legal access to an array of guns not contemplated when a bunch of white guys wrote the constitutional amendment about the right to bear arms, add a mental health establishment which too often believes that incendiary comments by a patient can be dismissed as not actionable, and, for good measure, include the inability of parents to connect the dots of their child’s behavior.

How many more must die before substantive changes are made! When will the public gnashing of teeth and grand statements be supported with action. How can a nation which kills its young have any claim to moral leadership in the world.

Meanwhile, the NRA convention in Houston takes place as scheduled. In the words of the mayor, “it could not be cancelled.” Of course not, there is money to be made, and, actuarially, children are worth nothing. Perhaps a Latino or African American server could add some “spice” in the kitchen to the filet mignon they will set down in front of the person fighting for the right to keep their children exposed to unmatched risk.

The NRA will cite the horrible procedural mistakes made by Uvalde police and, of course, they will opine on the nature of “evil.” Logically then, they are saying the United States is both dumber and more evil than all those countries which have figured out how to protect their children.  Hmmm!

For domestic perspective only, these are but a few factoids:

*Having a gun in the house triples the risk of a gun homicide; a suicide is five times more likely.

*African American men 15-34 years old are 38% of gun homicide victims; they are 2% of the population.

*Gun homicides in 2020 were the highest in 26 years.

*Government gun deal inspectors have on average about 140 licensed gun dealers to monitor.

*There are 400 million guns in the country.

P.S. The Buffalo massacre reportedly was live-streamed on Twitch; later, ads ran next to the video.

P.P.S. The shares of publicly-traded gun manufacturers rose the day after Robb kids died, meaning the odds of more guns being bought were greater than the chances of meaningful gun reform.

Words fail me!

Written 2018: MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL

I cried. I cursed.

No, not again!

Please, no more “our thoughts and prayers are with you” and “heartfelt condolences” and “trained grief counselors will be available for all those in need.”

Please, do not shift the focus away from gun control by ideas like, “let’s train everybody at the school in how to handle guns; let’s have nearby store personnel ready to stanch the flow of blood from wounded kids.”

Read the data, best brought together in the Max Fisher and Josh Keller New York Times article entitled,  “What Explains U.S. Mass Shootings?” Spoiler alert: it is guns!”

Maybe this time will be different.

The walk-out planned for March 14, the activism of students (#NeverAgain, #Enough), the decision by a wealthy Republican funder to close his wallet unless there is meaningful gun control – provide hope. (I will ignore the fact that many states have ceased requiring a permit to carry a hand gun.)

There are numerous rules pertaining to guns (and to the way mental health information is handled) which can be changed without infringing on the Constitution and without hindering, e.g., the ability of hunters to pursue their sport. Americans will not suddenly become more vulnerable to terrorists (in truth, we should be more scared of ourselves!).

Maybe we cannot close the gap to our more civilized neighboring countries, but I cannot countenance the image of more kids going down in a hail of bullets.

This cannot be normal.

This time must be different!

Written 2012: SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Inevitably, no matter how horrible an event, one hears the phrase, ‘a return to normalcy.’ It is meant to represent a positive lift to one’s spirits, not for those directly affected – because their lives will never be normal – but for all the others, whatever their degree of separation.

It is as if ‘a return to normalcy is a desirable goal for all concerned. IT IS NOT.”

It cannot be accepted as normal to have school killings as a consistent front page story and then move on. It cannot be normal to be “able to buy a gun with less difficulty than getting a driver’s license.”

It cannot be normal to think that the “NRA is the last word on interpretation of the Constitution, with its members historically having more energy than the rest of the political population and thus able to fight off changes which might have saved some innocent kids.

It cannot be normal to “lead the world in gun ownership and the number of children killed by guns.”

To be in favor of a return to normalcy is insane!