I was surprised and saddened to learn of the shooting in Boulder, Colorado, yesterday. Saddened, of course, because the shootings just continue to happen every so many months and year after year across the nation. Colorado has especially been the victim of shooting tragedies, most notably the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. Boulder with its beautiful university and other-worldly affluence somehow seemed an unlikely place for gun violence. During my son’s student years there, I spent a lot of time enjoying the city and environs.
What can I say? What can any of us say as to why these awful killings keep happening? Those of my generation look back and note that such shootings simply did not happen when we were young. Why?
Even before this latest tragedy is sorted out, the truth is that we know what is going to be done to prevent further atrocities—virtually nothing. The two political parties will go into their individual corners and come out fighting, issuing party line statements and refusing to work together. The Democrats will push for legislation such as background checks and bans on military style weapons; the Republicans will retreat behind the Second Amendment and repeat their shibboleths that “guns don’t kill people, people do” and blame the killings on poor mental health. Concerned citizens will form groups to lobby and be largely ignored, and the issue will die down until the next shooting.
I certainly don’t know the answer to our endemic gun violence. But I do know this: in the past many of us had guns, but there was not the proliferation of semi-automatic assault rifles and large magazine weapons that exist today. I also know that all of us, regardless of our political beliefs, should work together and not let this issue go until we have exhausted all efforts to identify and resolve its causes.
Note:
See Heather Cox Richardson’s March 23, 2021 “Letters from an American” comments on the Boulder shooting:
https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/people/4875576-heather-cox-richardson
There is an excellent article in the NYT today about shootings in America. Their conclusion — too many guns. From the article: “Americans make up about 4.4 percent of the global population but own 42 percent of the world’s guns”. The research shows more guns, more shootings. Seems simple, but as you point out, little will get done. Also from the article: ““In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate,” Dan Hodges, a British journalist, wrote in a post on Twitter two years ago, referring to the 2012 attack that killed 20 young students at an elementary school in Connecticut. “Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”
Thanks for the comment George. Those were most interesting articles in today’s NYT. We do have too many guns, but it is awfully unpopular to say that in conservative circles. The fact is the issue of guns was long ago politicized much in the same manner as we recently saw the Covid threat and the wearing of masks. In my opinion, the Second Amendment was about citizens having arms to support a militia. Unfortunately, we have come to accept the periodic killings as part of our culture.