Vigil for shooting victims (Dayton, OH)
Colt Firearms recently announced that it will suspend production and civilian sales of its AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. Due to their design enabling shooters to kill so many people in so little time, the AR-15 (the most popular rifle in America) and similar assault weapons, such as the AK-47, are the top choices in a large number of America’s deadliest mass shootings, and the vast majority of mass shooting deaths, including:
Aurora, CO; Sandy Hook Elementary School (CT); Poway, California synagogue; New Zealand mosques; El Paso, TX; Dayton, OH (9 people killed in 30 seconds); Las Vegas, NV concert; Sutherland Springs, TX church; Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, FL); Santa Monica, CA; San Bernardino, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Geneva County, AL; Chattanooga, TN; Carson City, NV; and more.
In addition to Colt’s discontinuation of the AR-15, moreover, several other actions might be considered early signals that the tide of public opinion, and legislative action, may be starting to turn against gun violence. These actions include:
—The National Rifle Association (NRA) is undergoing a crisis this year, including financial turmoil and departures of executives and staff. The NRA is now widely and accurately seen not as a gun rights group, but as a trade group for gun manufacturers that cares nothing about American lives being lost.
—The Democratic majority U.S. House passed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Enhanced Background Checks Act in February 2019, and sent the bills to the Republican-run U.S. Senate, where Mitch McConnell is blocking consideration and a vote. Democratic House members such as Ted Lieu continue to press Senate Republicans to act, and various organizations have sent out petitions to the Senate to take action as well.
—Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke has taken the leadership position among his competitors against gun violence, after the recent mass shooting in his hometown of El Paso, TX. O’Rourke made big news in the most recent Democratic presidential debate, aired by ABC television network on September 12, during the following exchange:
MUIR: But I do want to come to Congressman O’Rourke, because I know this is personal to you. El Paso is your hometown. Some on this stage have suggested a voluntary buy-back for guns in this country.
You’ve gone further. You’ve said, quote, “Americans who own AR-15s and AK-47s will have to sell them to the government, all of them.” You know that critics call this confiscation. Are you proposing taking away their guns? And how would this work?
O’ROURKE: I am, if it’s a weapon that was designed to kill people on a battlefield…
(APPLAUSE)
If the high impact, high velocity round, when it hits your body, shreds everything inside of your body, because it was designed to do that, so that you would bleed to death on a battlefield and not be able to get up and kill one of our soldiers.
When we see that being used against children, and in Odessa, I met the mother of a 15-year-old girl who was shot by an AR-15, and that mother watched her bleed to death over the course of an hour because so many other people were shot by that AR-15 in Odessa and Midland, there weren’t enough ambulances to get to them in time, hell, yes, we’re going to take your AR-15, your AK-47.
(APPLAUSE)
We’re not going to allow it to be used against our fellow Americans anymore.
(APPLAUSE)
—U.S. Senate Democrats took to the Senate floor for five hours on Tuesday to pressure McConnell and the Republicans to advance gun safety legislation. Earlier this year, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a new Assault Weapons Ban. As with the Democratic House bills, Feinstein’s bill sits with McConnell and Republican Senate committee chairmen, who thus far have refused to move any such legislation forward.
—Walmart, America’s largest gun retailer, just ended certain ammunition sales, and has asked customers not to carry firearms openly in its stores. This follows the 2018 announcement by Dick’s Sporting Goods that it would stop selling assault-style weapons, and would impose a minimum age of 21 on gun purchases. After Walmart’s announcement, other retailers, including Krogers, CVS, Walgreens, Wegmans, Aldi, and Meijer, all announced new policies requesting that customers not openly carry firearms in their stores.
It is possible, therefore, that action on gun violence is following a similar pattern to that of marriage equality: public opinion leads, and cautious or obstinate politicians eventually follow. In this case, public opinion is squarely on the side of taking action to curb gun violence, including:
- Universal background checks
- “Red Flag” laws (which permit families or law enforcement to take guns from someone who poses a threat)
- Assault weapons ban
Hopefully, public opinion will win out soon, as innocent lives continue to be lost to gun violence every day.
Photo by Becker1999 (Paul and Cathy), used under Creative Commons. https://is.gd/ebyAmk
