Yet Another Senseless Tragedy

The frequency of mass killings in the US is shocking and unimaginable.  According to the Gun Violence Archive since January 2018 there have been 34 mass shootings, of which 8 occurred in schools, 74 kids killed or injured under the age of 11 and 384 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 killed or injured.  

Compare these appalling statistics with the rest of the developed world.

The incontrovertible fact is that the US homicide rates by gun violence is 25 times that of other developed countries.

The right to bear arms is entrenched in the US Constitution.

However as with any right there must be a corresponding responsibility. No right is absolute. There ought to be some basic measures such as background checks, which is overwhelmingly supported by 90% of the US population.

Yet lawmakers, funded and controlled by the NRA, seem to put their special interests ahead of protecting innocent lives with common sense legislation.

The Trump Administration response to the most recent tragic mass school shooting in Florida is both predictable and consistent with their marching orders from the NRA. It’s not guns that kill. Its people who do.  The emphasis is on school safety and not on controlling the sale of assault weapons that should not under any circumstances be constitutionally protected firearms. 

What is the rationale for assault weapons to be in the hands of anyone, let alone in the hands of teenagers with mental health challenges? 

So, instead of dealing with the root cause of these horrendous and tragic events, Vice President Pence has stated that:

“We are going to remain focused on bringing renewed energy to making our schools safe and taking a renewed look at giving law enforcement and local authorities the tools they need to deal with individuals struggling with dangerous mental illness," 

The take away from this statement is that schools are not a safe haven for kids to learn, but a battle ground with more law enforcement to “protect” schools. This is non sense.  

Assault weapons are purely offensive killing machines. There is no rationale for such offensive weapons to be in the hands of individuals, however law abiding they may be. Yet, if any of the more extreme views relating to the right to bear assault weapons were to be enacted our homes, our schools, our places of worship and our work places could conceivably become a “Shootout at the OK Corral”. 

Perhaps the latest school shooting in Florida school district, considered to be one of the safest, having implemented every conceivable safety measure, with so many innocent lives lost, may serve as an inflection point by a galvanized youth, all around the country, who are the true leaders to advocate for common sense change. Unlike, those in Washington, who seem to be powerless or unwilling to effect change because of the political baggage they carry. 

But this movement should also extend to reversing the impact of the US Supreme Court decision in Citizen United which is the engine that enables special interest groups to support “their candidates” with iron glad guarantees to not act in support of sensible gun legislation. 

Democracy has been hijacked. Our democratic ideals and institutions are under assault.  

The leadership and the passion exhibited by young students is perhaps the kind of positive change that may instill sanity, decency and rationality into our political discourse.