Do I Live in a Spirit of Tragic Resignation or...?

Do I continue to live a life of “tragic resignation” or do I exercise my 1st Amendment rights and become an outspoken advocate for change?

            The morning of August 26, 2015, journalists Alison Parker and Adam Ward were shot and killed during a live interview at Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. Their killer, Vester Flanagan, ended his own life later that day. Alison and Adam were young, educated, productive professional journalists whose lives were cut short by gun violence. Our community is stunned and heartbroken. In just a few seconds, 15 shots were fired from a handgun. Alison and Adam were taken from us forever, and one of our community leaders was seriously injured.

            Those with eyes to see and ears to hear—pay attention. Gun violence in our country is epidemic. We hear about it and see it in the news almost everyday. All of us remember the high-profile incidents: Fort Hood mass murders in 2009, mass murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the recent murders at the AME Church in Charleston, S.C., the Virginia Tech mass murders, the mass murders in Columbine, Colorado, the mass murders at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, the murders at a recruiting office in Chattanooga, TN, the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords in Arizona, the recent execution-style murder of a police officer in Houston, the recent murder of a police officer in Illinois, the murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida, the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, a college professor in Mississippi murdered by a colleague who also killed his wife and took his own life. And these are just some of the shootings that make the national media. Closer to my home there are killings by guns that don’t make the national media. The murder of the ex-wife of a sheriff’s deputy by the deputy, the accidental shooting of a nine year-old boy by his brother with a neighbor’s pistol and, on September 5, 2015, a shooting near Charlotte, N.C. that left a 9 year-old boy dead and three others wounded. Does this make death and injury by guns an epidemic? Actually, it is endemic in our culture. If this many deaths occurred in so short a time through infection with the poliovirus, we would all call it an epidemic! We would be demanding that our elected officials do something; we would be demanding that the CDC and NIH take action; we would be demanding federal investigations and the firing of officials because of their incompetence.

            Sadly, we don’t treat the ubiquitous killing of our citizens by guns as a serious epidemic. The predictable response to gun violence is: “guns don’t kill, people kill.” This is a worn-out, hollow cliché. It needs to be restated as a more truthful statement: “People with guns kill people.” Our elected officials, many fearful they will lose votes in the next election, hide behind two responses: “I support 2nd Amendment rights” and, “I support improving and increasing our mental health system.” I agree with both of these responses. But, come on—surely there have to be common-sense guidelines connected to the 2nd Amendment; guidelines that protect me, my friends and family from the kind of gun violence that took the lives of Alison and Adam.

And blaming the widespread killing of our citizens on inadequate mental health programs is a major cop-out. First of all, this assumes that people who have diagnosable mental-health disorders commit most of the gun violence. This is factually untrue and those who take this position are disingenuous or uninformed. And second, it does a real disservice to people who have diagnosable mental illness. The overwhelming majority are not potential killers. When our leaders make these assertions, it places a cruel stigma on thousands of people who need mental health services—it is shameful. I would be delighted if our leaders committed many more resources to our mental health programs simply because it is the right, responsible thing to do. But connecting mental illness with gun violence is wrong and shameful. And, we all know the reality that follows the public statements made by most of our elected officials; committing financial resources to our mental health system gets little real support. It is as difficult as getting common sense legislation that addresses gun violence.

And here is the irony that really amazes me. Following a mass murder like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary, gun sales increase. I suppose many of us buy the naive logic that the solution to bad guys with guns is to have more good guys with guns. Or, beware—the government is going to come get your guns; you better buy more while you can. That’s a little like saying we’re going to combat obesity buy eating more food! No matter the rationale that increases our level of fearfulness, the net result is an even greater number of guns in circulation in our communities.

There is only ONE common denominator that runs through all of these tragedies—GUNS. Guns are the weapons used regardless of whether the tragedy is the result of anger, rage, mental illness, terrorism, panic, fear, revenge or an accident.

Here are some of my assumptions about gun violence in our communities. These assumptions are not about gun ownership but rather about public safety and the proliferation of gun sales as more and more non-law enforcement citizens choose to arm themselves.

·      Anyone who is armed is dangerous.

·      Anyone who is armed is fearful.

·      Fear sets off internal physiological responses that override rational thinking.

·      An armed, fearful person is on higher alert; they may react from fear, rather than real danger.

·      I am less safe in public spaces when armed citizens are present.

·      I am more likely to be killed or injured by an armed citizen than by a “bad guy” or police officer.

      As a private citizen, I have a responsibility to do the things I can for positive change. I hope my example will speak to others. Here is where I begin.

·      I will actively support Everytown for Gun Safety and similar organizations

·      I will routinely advocate for public policies, at all levels, that reduce gun violence

·      I will NOT patronize businesses that permit customers or employees to carry handguns—openly or concealed—in or on their premises

·      I will NOT attend meetings or programs at institutions or organizations that allow individuals to carry handguns—concealed or openly. This includes places such as churches, schools, colleges and universities

·      I will actively lobby my elected officials to establish policies that reduce gun violence and protect the general public.

·      During election cycles, I will expect candidates seeking my support to provide thoughtful, deeply informed positions on issues about reducing gun violence. I will not accept bumper sticker slogans like I support 2nd Amendment rights, or we need to improve mental health programs.

·      I will hold my elected officials accountable for following through on the positions they pledged to take.

·      I will advocate for programs—beginning in elementary school—that promote nonviolent conflict resolution. In the long view, a cultural change from violence to nonviolence is required. This will take decades, but can begin now.

I do not suggest that we can totally end gun violence. But I do believe that we

can greatly reduce the current epidemic of gun violence in our country. I am enough of a realist to know that it will take decades to change our gun culture. But now is the time to face this challenge.