Like many people, I have spent a lot of time the last few days reflecting on the latest school shooting in Parkland, FL and wondering why this is happening so frequently in this country and how we can mitigate against future occurrences. As usual gun control and mental health are the two topics dominating the news cycle.
I am frankly concerned by the deification of firearms in the American culture and I’m not sure what is driving it. Perhaps it is our history as revolutionary militiamen fighting for our freedom or frontiersmen trekking into the wilderness and living off the land with their trusty flintlock, or the intrepid cowboy with his .45 strapped to his side. Whatever romantic notions may drive our idolatrous love of guns, none really apply today, no matter the delusional paranoia of our many conspiracy theorists in this country.
As a former police officer, correctional officer and probation and parole officer, I carried or had immediate access to firearms on a daily basis for many years. As a teenager and young man, I will admit to a fascination with guns which I think stemmed from the sense of power and control a gun provides. They feed into a kind of God-complex in which the power over life and death becomes ours to decide. I certainly felt that way the first time I strapped on my service revolver as a rookie cop. It took a while before the magnitude of that responsibility became apparent to me and I realized that resorting to lethal force should be the last option considered. My years as a police officer also convinced me how ill-prepared even many police officers are when confronted with a potential life and death situation. The fear and panic can be overwhelming if you are not psychologically and physically prepared; which for most only comes with intensive and realistic training. So, the idea that putting more guns into the hands of “good guys” will prevent “bad guys” from victimizing us strikes me as extremely naïve and counterproductive. The last thing a law enforcement officer needs when responding to an active shooter situation is a bunch of civilian cowboys with guns trying to prove their manhood; not to mention the risk of being misidentified as a shooter yourself.
So how effective would efforts to control guns be in reducing mass violence. It is estimated that there are over 300 million firearms already on the streets, roughly one gun for every man, woman and child in the country. And the number of guns manufactured in this country has doubled in the last few years, as gun sales have skyrocketed since the Obama presidency, even as the percentage of households owning guns has fallen substantially as the number of people involved in hunting activities has dropped. So, would implementing reasonable gun controls like mandatory, universal background checks and denying gun ownership to convicted felons and people with histories of mental illness, domestic violence or terrorist activities stop some of this gun violence. It certainly may have deterred the Parkland, FL shooter and several other recent mass shootings. What effect would banning assault rifles like the AR-15 or limiting the capacity of clips have? Many argue that there are already so many in circulation that a ban now would be futile. But again it may have lessoned the lethality of the Parkland and Las Vegas shootings. While it is apparent that any current actions to control or limit gun ownership in this country would not stop mass violence completely; it is incontrovertible that other 1st world countries with strict gun laws have substantially lower levels of mass violence. While no one is suggesting confiscating guns from responsible gun owners, no law-abiding citizen (except for the delusional conspiracy theorists) should object to a national gun registration requirement. It amazes me that the very conservatives who so loudly proclaim “American exceptionalism” and love of country and Christian values and the sanctity of the Constitution; can, in the next breath, vehemently express their fear that the “government” is going to come and confiscate their guns, which they feel they need to fight off tyranny in this country they profess to love. Then they elect an authoritarian like Donald Trump who is exactly the kind of leader who may try a fascist takeover of the country.