America has gun problems. The sheer quantity of guns in the country is one problem, the deafening rhetoric on both sides of the aisle regarding “gun control” is another, and the fear that has crept into our lives which drives demand for guns is a third. These specific issues only scratch the surface of America’s over 200-year-old fixation on guns, but they will all need to be addressed if we hope to prevent tragedies like San Bernardino, CA, Newtown, CT, and now Parkland FL, among too many others.
Getting guns off the street is the easiest problem to address as it can be done legislatively. At a bare minimum, background checks need to be improved, something which even President Trump has recently come out and said he could support. There is also no reason that weapons like the AR-15, capable of firing 40 rounds a minute and offers the kind of destructive power that our Founding Fathers could have only dreamed of, should be available to anyone. Lastly, the CDC should no longer be forbidden from studying what is clearly a public health crisis. There has been a ban on such research for over 20 years now, even though more than 30,000 people are killed by guns each year.
Georgia should be at the forefront of this discussion, given that we rank 18th on firearm mortality rate in the country. We are a state that values our right to bear arms, rightfully so. However, that does not mean that guns should be ever present in our lives – guns are allowed in bars, in churches, on college campuses, and just about anywhere else that isn’t the Gold Dome itself. Legislators should work harder to get guns off the street, and that starts with ending the fixation on putting guns into every possible room. There have been hundreds, if not thousands of other suggestions which could help reduce the availability of firearms, but they will require a nuanced debate.
That nuanced debate is all but impossible now given the heated rhetoric surrounding the mere mention of the phrase “gun control.” The blame for that rhetoric lies on both sides of the aisle. For conservatives, particularly far-right politicians and media commentators, any mention of “gun control” is followed by an accusation that liberals, Nancy Pelosi, Antifa, or whoever the enemy of the month is will soon be coming to take away a person’s guns. That makes it near impossible to take even small steps without incurring the wrath of millions of American citizens.
On the other hand, the loudest liberals and their commentators usually are not adding nuance to the debate either. Take, for example, the recently published statistic that there have been 18 school shootings this year that many news organizations immediately used without checking the data behind the evocative figure. It only took a passing glance at the data to determine that many of those 18 instances could meet no rigorous definition of a “school shooting.” School shootings are a serious problem, but inflating statistics like that only make it more difficult to have a constructive discussion. Laying the deaths of children at the feet of Republican legislators is also a foolish tactic, as that kind of accusation will often only lead to greater entrenchment of one’s position, not less.
Last, the culture of fear in this country must be defeated. That culture existed prior to the election of President Trump, but he has cranked it up to 11. And now, in a country where school shootings are no longer unforeseeable nightmares, but expected tragedies, a school board member in Floyd County suggested arming teachers. The solution to this problem cannot be to teach our children to be constantly afraid.
There must be a change. We cannot accept that these tragedies are the cost of our Second Amendment rights. The time for action is now, and it has been for years. There is a balance that can be struck between public safety and gun rights, but it requires both sides of the argument coming to the table, talking, and most importantly, listening. It needs to happen in Congress and state legislatures across the United States, and I believe that Georgia has an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the country. A love of guns and love of children can coexist, and it’s time that we prove it.
Tharon Johnson is a consultant with Paramount Consulting Group and a Democrat strategist.
