The lucky ones awake in the morning
go through the day without fear for their lives, and go to sleep at night. What we do during the day is what matters. In some religious traditions, people ask
forgiveness for what they have done and what they have left undone. People of other faiths, and those with none, often
ask the same question. What have I left
undone?
The recent brutal killing of
schoolchildren in Parkland Florida, the scores of mass shootings in the last
few years, and those since, give pause, but nothing changes. Have we left too much undone?
The teenagers from Parkland Florida
are coming after their representatives in Congress and in state legislatures
who will have to answer for what we have left undone. We who elected them and those who bought them
off will answer for what is left undone.
The good news is that the nation is getting closer and closer to the cultural
tipping point. Some of our leaders,
however, put their efforts into more gun control when that isn’t the root cause
of the problem. We know the root cause
but don’t want to talk about it or act on it.
Do we have too many guns? Yes!
There are 300 million guns in the US, the most highly armed nation in
the world. We really don’t need that
many guns, but gun ownership is in our DNA.
If we had more gun control laws,
would they reduce mass killings, suicides, and homicides? The experience in Chicago and other highly
regulated cities and states says the answer is no. Should we limit the types of guns available
on the market and regulate how people sell them? Of course, but ….
Whenever we have a mass shooting, or
single incidents, which seem like the new normal, we ask why the shooter is
allowed to buy guns, own guns, use guns, or be around people with guns. We ask all the right questions, and then
propose unrelated solutions. Why?
Let’s consider who should have easy
access to guns. I proffer the idea that
guns should be available to people who are not a danger to themselves or
others, who know how to use guns properly, who want them for hunting or sport,
or the few who need them for protection of property. Gun ownership is the issue, not guns.
Other nations, as free as ours,
address gun ownership in rational ways, without taking away “second amendment”
rights. Our neighbor to the north is a
good example. Canada requires a person
to have a license to purchase and carry a gun.
The application process requires character references, attendance at a
gun safety course, the approval of a conjugal partner or ex partner if any, and
a background check. The process only takes
about 90 days. How easy is that? The process isn’t foolproof, but it reduces
the number of “wrong” people who own guns.
Other free nations use similar processes; they control who can own guns.
A second issue to consider is that guns, for
many, are now the metaphor for the wide division that saps the nation. The
notion of the common good has vanished.
People are sent to govern, but not to compromise. Our national and state leaders don’t even
talk to each other. That doesn’t work
and it tears the country apart.
We gather in tribal gangs to take on
a perceived enemy within: educated
costal elites vs. the heartland, high tech vs. low skill jobs, big box stores
vs. main street, or urban and suburban
vs. rural. The likes of MSNBC and Fox
News foment division. Flip between the
two channels some evening and you witness two different nations. Talk radio, left and right wing blogs like
Red State and Alternet add fuel to the fire.
One group pines for the past, the other for what could be. Neither wants anything to do with those they
oppose.
Joy-Ann Reid, a syndicated writer
and commentator writes: “It seems axiomatic that the past and the future cannot
exist at the same time. Thanks to the
space-time continuum, people from different centuries cannot live
simultaneously. The same goes for a
nation, which cannot survive pulling toward the future and toward the past at
once.”[i] We can learn from the past, consider it, but
not cling to it. Our outlook about gun
ownership cannot be stuck in the 1700s.
What have we left undone? We haven’t moved to unite the country as we
should. Our politics is corrupted by a
my-way-or-the-highway mentality, vast amounts of money, and moral standing
ascribed to each major party that pronounces the other evil. We let the guns speak for our fear, our dissatisfaction,
and our separateness. The models that were
effective in the past will not serve the future. Nearly 90% of US citizens agree that we need
to keep guns out of the hands of the “wrong” people. So let’s do that. Let’s not leave it undone.
While we work to change the rules
governing who can own a gun, we need to change the laws that restrict
healthcare workers and school officials, for example, from reporting people
with mental issues, violent people, and known criminals. The national background check process in
place today is minimally effective because it lacks all the needed data. Too many gun shows, where nearly half of the
gun purchases are made without background checks, would help reduce “wrong”
ownership and usage.
Children should not be afraid to go
to school, parents should not be afraid to send their children to school,
wondering if they will come home alive. Teachers
should not be afraid of being gunned down in their classrooms. People should not be afraid to walk the
streets of our towns and cities wondering if they will make it home from the
movies, the theater, or the dance club.
People should be able to go to an outdoor concert without fear of being
gunned down. Fear should not be a normal
requirement of life. Fear should not be
the price we pay for living in a gun-filled nation.
