I’m writing to talk about the enormous elephant in the room - but I must speak softly for fear someone will shoot it.The elephant, of course, is gun control. No one sees the elephant - or at least most pretend they don’t see the elephant - despite the growing episodes of mass shootings.
In 2013 there were 365 mass shootings, one per day. Don’t believe it? Look it up. But no one is talking about it.
Political fear has hushed mouths in Congress and in the White House, despite President Obama’s rhetoric in his 2013 State of the Union Speech. His 2014 speech contained just two sentences on the subject. Admittedly, those sentences were strong ones, stating an intention to bypass Congress to enact legislation. But will it happen? Or will fear for the electoral future of the Democratic party prevent it?
But we can’t sit and point fingers at the President about this issue. Nor is it us against the NRA. Despite its leadership, the NRA is made up of good people; our neighbors and friends. They own guns, respect the guns, and are horrified at these shootings, just like the rest of us. But their leadership has convinced them that ANY restriction to firearms, any limit to those who should own them or when they may use them, any common sense approach will ultimately lead to the government taking away their guns. As long as fear reigns, nothing will be done.
The NRA leadership responses - increased training in gun handling, more armed guards in schools, the creation of a national database of the mentally ill, and eliminating violent games, movies and other media - will not prevent these tragedies. If a person is intent upon causing grievous harm with a gun in a public place, there is no way to stop this person, so long as that person is armed. Like computer viruses, clever defenses only lead to even more clever attacks.
My point is this. The American people need to stop pretending we don’t see the elephant. We need to talk about it, to toss out ideas, to suggest solutions, to keep the dialogue going. This is real. Our children are threatened in their schools, families are threatened at the mall, people are threatened anywhere they congregate.
The elephant will not wander away on its own.
