On Monday, I received a late night text from my daughter. Someone she dearly loves had been shot in the shoulder. The good news is that he survived, though he is recovering from a shattered rib and a punctured lung.
The next morning, I woke up to two competing stories on NBC news. First, this weekend was marked by a particularly large number of shootings in the U.S., bringing this year’s number of mass shootings to more than 300. This number does not include any of the shootings like the one that prompted my daughter’s text because a mass shooting is defined as more than 4 people being shot. If you include those shot in mass shootings and those shot in shooting events of fewer than 4 individuals, the total number of shootings in 2023 in the United States is 20,000.
The second story was about the reaction in Serbia to two mass shootings this May. After the shootings, a general amnesty for turning in weapons resulted in 70,000 firearms being surrendered. While there is a strong tradition of individual gun ownership in Serbia, there is also a tradition of rather stringent gun control laws. Nevertheless, within 2 months of the May events, additional measures were put in place, including 15 years in prison for ownership of an unregistered gun, tougher punishment for possessing a gun illegally, controls on weapon ownership (strict background checks, psychological evaluations, and drug tests), and additional controls on gun owners and gun shooting ranges.
Of course, there are many differences between Serbia and the United States, but there are many similarities as well. First, Serbia is the third most armed country in the world (following the United States and Yemen) which speaks to its strong tradition of individual gun ownership. Second, Serbian politics is almost as divided as U.S. politics. Nevertheless, Serbia was able to muster a consensus to effect these new laws in two month’s time.
Serbia is not the only country that has reacted to the horror of mass shootings in this way. So has the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.
Why can they pull this off and we cannot?
1. Is it because so many of our victims are Black? (Everytown for Gun Safety, a grassroots organization committed to reducing gun violence, reports that on average, every day, 30 Blacks in America are killed and an additional 110 sustain non-fatal wounds by firearms.)
2. Is it because there is so much money and power behind protecting the gun industry in our country?
3. Is it because social media continues to celebrate violence and elevate it as a solution to disagreement?
I do not have the answer, but I know that “thoughts and prayers” are toothless and I do believe that the American people are just as smart, resourceful, compassionate, and creative as the people in Serbia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.
I also believe that collectively we must confront those three questions I posed and if the answer is “yes” to any one of them, we must commit to actions that address these problems, actions that likely include but go beyond gun control laws. And I do believe that it will be the people/the voters who will get this work done. It will not be the politicians.
Amen! And we need better politicians.
Absolutely.
Very well written. Thank you
Thanks
I agree with Ellen- we need better politicians who actually understand and respect their roles rather than get in it for their own personal
Gratification.
Well put! Folks might be interested in following https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/, which is published by a distinguished graduate of TCNJ (TSC, at the time), who has been advocating on this issue for many years.
Larry, thanks for the recommendation. I have reached out and for others: this is a great site. Look at it and not just because she is a graduate of TCNJ/TSC!
Appreciate your commentary and information. So sorry Pauline and her friend and community had to experience the violence. We all have to continue speaking out and voting.
Bobby
thanks for your challenge to the leadership of the US. Totally agree we need action ! So sorry to hear about Pauline’s friend and hope he will have a speedy recovery.
Thanks for response.
Our gutless politicians refuse to hear the voices of the bereaved and the angry. Protect the god-ordained right to own guns (and to take the hefty campaign donations this stance will engender). A regulated militia is not the same as a mentally disturbed (usually young man) with an AK47, often as not purchased legally. I will always support hunters, who observe safety laws, donate to the environment and have a healthy respect for the power of weapons. Not so, the predators who kill children, those at church or temple, those at nightclubs and concerts, those going about their daily work, and anyone they feel compelled to eliminate, including any who happen to be near their targets. It is past time to amend the Second Amendment in light of who can obtain guns now and the kinds of guns they use in their senseless hatred. Yes, people kill people, but the ease with which anyone can buy a gun intended just for brutal killing is at the heart of the modern dilemma.
I absolutely agree with you that this has absolutely NOTHING to do with the vast majority of those who own guns for hunting. They do not hunt deer with AK47s. I also would submit, it really has nothing to do with the second amendment. Thanks for reading and responding
I forget which recent mass shooting had happened that involved children, but it’s heartbreaking and puts me at a loss of words (which is rare!) when my 9-year-old son turns to me and asks: “why are children being killed?” Throughout the school year, every time I saw him get on his bus, all I could think is “hope to see you again,” and I can’t be the only parent that has that same thought. As a parent and a mom especially, I too am beyond thoughts and prayers. I am just angry that this country can’t get it together, but I realize that unlike the other nations you listed, we are, by comparison, a large country and it will take a long time to get any kind of rational consensus. It may not happen in my lifetime, but I sure hope it happens within my son’s.
I do think that part of our reaction is as mothers, but all adults should feel this sense of responsibility to help make the world safer for the next generation. Thanks for reading.
Sorry to hear. Hope he fully recovers. Just some perspective on the long game of the gun industry. They sell guns. That is all. To market toothpaste, a consumer products company will scare us about cavities. We buy toothpaste. But we know they are right. We see it. In the case of guns, the right has created many scenarios stoking fear. The government is coming for you(big as ever now), poor brown people are coming in caravans to take your jobs and women, All untrue. Proven by fact. Back to the business of guns. 6 of the top 10 gun brands confiscated by the Mexican Army from the cartels are American, and the top 4 are American. The immigrant crisis is now a function of people scared for their lives and running away and climate change(different discussion. But they can’t grow crops). So the guns from American make their way south(not falling off a truck). Someone makes profit and the cycle repeats. The right is paid off not to fix the problem, from the proceeds of those sales to anyone and everyone. And whatever isn’t sold in bulk is sold throught he glorification of ownership as you pointed out through fear tactics and social media. At the point this country is right now, I am not sure of the solution.
I have done marches and petitions. There are more of us who want something done than not.
But Congress(republicans have zero interest in taking action). Sorry. I am passionate about this crisis.
I agree with your passion and I hope that those of us who really care and know the facts of the situation will prevail. Best