Where Can You be Safe?

Over the Fourth of July weekend in the United States, 220 people were killed by gun violence and nearly 570 were injured. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were only five states where there were no reports of multiple shootings during that time period.

In Highland Park, Illinois, there was a horrendous mass murder at a Fourth of July parade attended by families with grandparents and grandchildren: three generations out to enjoy the Fourth. In the parade were police units marching and armed, but their handguns were no match for the 21-year-old gunman armed with a variation of an AK -15 who shot over 60 rounds. The shooter killed seven people and injured at least two dozen others in Highland Park. In nearby Chicago, while there were no mass murders, the total of killings and those injured by gun violence that weekend were higher than those in Highland Park, but the massacre got all the attention. That is often the case, even though mass killings account for less than 1% of the total killings. The authorities define a mass murder as an instance when four or more victims are shot in the same event by the same gunman. So far this year, they have identified 309 events as mass killings. And the year is only half over.

Is this the society you want? One where there is no place you go where you feel safe? So far this year, we have seen multiple killings in schools, at a grocery store, in a workplace, at a church, in a hospital; there have been shootings in the subway and on random streets in cities across the country. Children in DC and VA recently who were in their neighborhoods and playing outside were killed by being caught in a crossfire between warring factions or cars driving by, with occupants firing wildly.

One of the parade-goers who helped rescue a two-year-old boy, after the gunman killed his parents, said in an interview “we should be allowed to feel safe.”  And I agree, but when the current rogue court allowed relief from many of the gun restrictions the State of New York had imposed, it also allowed many more guns to be on the street, both there and elsewhere. We have over 400 million guns in this country owned by private citizens. Approximately 40% of the population owns a gun. So, since our population is around 333 million, there are a bunch of folks out there who each have a lot of firepower. Maybe they are collectors or perhaps even hunters, so a gun makes sense for them. People with prior charges, arrests, or mental health issues are supposed to have their applications to purchase a gun held up or questioned during the mandatory three-day waiting period, but NBC reported the FBI could not finish over one million background checks within that timetable, so the sale, by law, was permitted. However, over twenty-three million checks were completed on time, both in the years 2020 and 2021.

I do not own a gun. I do not wish to own a gun. Those decisions are a matter of personal choice. If you want to own a rifle or a pistol, I will not stand in your way. However, should you claim to need a semi-automatic and multiple magazines, I would disagree with your decision. Those are weapons of war and have no place in our civilized society. Physicians who attempted to assist the victims in Highland Park said that some bodies were eviscerated, while others had body parts strewn about the sidewalks. Really? We should, as a society, do better; we should demand that our country do better and get these weapons off the street. The assault weapons ban needs to be reinstated. We should begin a voluntary surrender program or even buybacks, where possible.

New Zealand and Australia have shown that these programs work. Of course, they are not as armed up as we here in the U.S. are, but those are countries that have respect for personal freedoms. After the shootings in Christ Church NZ, at the mosques there, they passed laws that banned semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles. They just weighed their options and decided that there were too many guns with high power around and wanted their use to stop. In an article in Vox, the author explained that Australia’s program came about after a mass shooter killed 35 people. Assault-style weapons were banned and a mandatory buy-back program and registry were instituted; seizures produced an additional 650,000 weapons. Suicide rates dropped and other criminal uses declined. In an 18-year follow-up period, there were only 13 mass murders. I understand these cultures differ from ours. Both are smaller countries somewhat isolated in the Pacific Ocean. New Zealand has just over 5 million people, while Australia counts its population at around 27 million, smaller than that of California, which has over 40 million people.

But, if after only one mass murder, they can determine a solution, surely, we can do something after over 300 this year alone. The recently passed gun laws were timid and did not really address the problem of semi-automatic or assault weapons. This needs to be corrected, but we currently have a Congress that is paralyzed. State governments are also paralyzed-both by a noisy minority. This must stop. Our children need to be able to go to school without fear; grandparents need to be able to join their families at a parade without fear; all need to be able to go to the grocery store without fear. Talking about mental health as the issue as Mitch McConnell did this week is misdirection. Other countries have disturbed youth also, but they do not have access to weapons of war with which to voice their disaffection.

In Japan this week, the former prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was assassinated as he gave a speech on a street corner. The assailant nursed some type of private grudge and used a homemade gun-like weapon to shoot him twice. In Japan, guns are restricted. There are fewer than ten killings a year with guns. The nation is in mourning because he was the longest-serving prime minister and was greatly respected.

Briefly, a few thoughts more. We have seen two mass murderers arrested recently. They each were young white males who had killed several people violently using assault weapons. The police took them into custody with no struggles or shots fired.

Contrast that with recent reports of black drivers stopped for questionable traffic violations. The most recent incident report noted over 90 shots fired as the unarmed driver tried to run away; 60 shots struck his body. Every few months there appears to be another story such as this one which took place in Ohio; one was in South Carolina, another in Texas. NPR reported in 2021 that since 2015 there have been reports of 135 unarmed Black men shot and killed by police who stopped them, often for no provocation or actual violation. Some of the shooting victims had mental health issues and seemed to not comprehend the commands they were given. The report also found that certain police officers seemed more likely to shoot than others. They noted that 75% of the officers involved in the shootings were white and found that, while most officers never fire a gun during their entire careers, some have done so more than once. These incidents are frequently never investigated. It is only when families question the accounts given to them that often the truth or body cam footage is revealed. Some say the more recent awareness began with the shooting of Michael Brown and the coverup attempted after his death. I do not know how we do this, but I think we need to do better. If you were black and read these stats, wouldn’t you be inclined to run?

Just as we would not allow vigilante crime and asked for justice in the case of Ahmaud Arbrey, we cannot allow vigilantes in uniform who sully the reputations of excellent police officers. As Joe Friday used to say, “just the facts, ma’am.”

“Til next week-Peace!