How many more people have to die in mass shootings before Republicans engage in the process of finding a solution?

Gun News

[ad_1]

(Eliza Earle | The New York Times) Safety officials help people outside of the Boulder King Soopers grocery store after a shooting that killed multiple people in Boulder, Colo., on Monday, March 22, 2021.

A pair of violent rampages in less than a week — first, the mass shootings in Atlanta and then, on Monday, the massacre at a Boulder, Colo., grocery store — have once again thrust the issue of gun violence into our national conversation and set in motion the predictable cycle of futility.

First, there’s the immediate anguish and anger, the outpouring of condolences. Flags are lowered, as they were in Utah on Tuesday, and then the focus turns to calls for action that quickly devolve into the same tired partisan arguments and petty bickering before fading into indifference.

Then another shooter inevitably kills more people and it all starts over. Given the evenly divided Senate in Washington and the pro-gun Republican grip on the Legislature here at home, there’s no reason to believe the blood of 18 people killed in the two attacks will shock lawmakers enough to take meaningful action.

The challenge is that the proposals on the table are far from perfect. Colorado, for example, has a red-flag law intended to take guns from people in crisis, and had a ban on assault weapons until a judge struck down the law last week, an action celebrated by the NRA.

(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Gehrke.

Neither stopped the massacre in Boulder; neither will stop every future mass shooting. That doesn’t mean the logical conclusion is to give up.

In a statement Tuesday, U.S. Rep. John Curtis said he, like all Americans, was saddened by the shooting in Colorado and prompted to consider how to stop acts of violence.

“Unfortunately, many politicians jump to their predictable corners and talking points,” the Utah Republican said. “Today, I call on my colleagues to take a fact-based approach in our responsibility to be part of the solution.”

It’s a pleasant sentiment, except that the inaction in Congress has not been a failure of both sides — it has been a failure of one side to get solutions passed into law, and a success of the other side in obstructing the process.

Republicans need to take some ownership and accountability in this process. If the Democrats’ proposals don’t work, offer a better solution, not just what the National Rifle Association wants.

The same holds true for state lawmakers. The Utah Legislature deserves credit for measures aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of domestic violence perpetrators and to address suicide by firearms, both more frequent factors in gun deaths than mass shootings. And the SafeUT phone app gives school kids a way to report threats of violence.

However, attempts to pass a red-flag law recommended by a task force aimed at preventing school shootings stalled for years until the sponsor, who endured relentless attacks, gave up on the bill.

Curtis is correct, though, when he says state and federal lawmakers should take a “fact-based approach in our responsibility to be part of the solution.”

A 2012 report in the American Journal of Public Health called for a new, holistic approach to research on the causes of mass shootings. In 2020, the Utah Legislature overwhelmingly passed HB340, commissioning a study on rampage violence. Then the pandemic hit and the money for the study was taken away and not restored this session.

Reviving that research to inform data-driven solutions is where local efforts should start, and they should work to get it done before it’s too late.

Our most notorious mass shooting in Utah took place at Trolley Square in 2007, when a gunman killed five people and wounded four others. While, according to the Gun Violence Archive, Utah has seen 55 shootings with multiple fatalities, claiming 128 victims in the past seven years, those events have tended to be family or domestic slayings or drug crimes, not random killings.

So we’ve been lucky. But we’re not special. In recent years, we have seen mass-casualty gun rampages in Nevada and Arizona and several in Colorado — and it’s only a matter of time before another one happens here.

When it does, will Utah’s state and federal lawmakers be able to look the victims’ families in the face and tell them they did everything they could to save lives? Or will partisan intransigence facilitate the unthinkable?



[ad_2]

Source link

Articles You May Like

Watch vs. Warning: Turn a Weather Alert Into a Household Action

30 Comments

  1. 6564 88418several thanks for telling!. Truth is usually the most effective vindication against slander. by Abraham Lincoln.. 313243

  2. 983021 596128Thank you pertaining to giving this outstanding content material on your web-site. I discovered it on google. I might check back again in the event you publish extra aricles. 706186

  3. 754778 2457Hi, Neat post. Theres a dilemma along along with your web site in internet explorer, could test this IE nonetheless could be the marketplace leader and a excellent portion of individuals will omit your outstanding writing because of this difficulty. 958143

  4. 38091 698124Whilst you are any with the lucky enough choices, it comes evidently, whilst capture the fancy of the specific coveted by ly folks other helpful you you meet may possibly effectively have hard times this specific difficulty. pre owned awnings 973961

  5. 500186 632142Hmm is anyone else encountering issues with the pictures on this weblog loading? Im trying to figure out if its a difficulty on my finish or if its the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated. 810245

  6. 920219 187997To your organization online business owner, releasing an essential company may be the bread so butter inside of their opportunity, and choosing a amazing child care company often indicates the particular between a victorious operation this is. how to start a daycare 755852

  7. It’s nearly impossible to find experienced people in this particular topic, however, you sound like you know what you’re talking about!
    Thanks

  8. Hi! Quick question that’s totally off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My blog looks weird when viewing from my iphone 4. I’m trying
    to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem.
    If you have any recommendations, please share.
    Many thanks!

  9. Simply wish to say your article is as surprising.
    The clearness in your submit is simply nice and i can suppose
    you’re a professional in this subject. Fine together with your
    permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to stay up to date with drawing close post.
    Thanks one million and please keep up the enjoyable work.

  10. Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is an extremely well
    written article. I’ll make sure to bookmark it and
    return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post.
    I’ll definitely return.

  11. BK8 เป็นแพลตฟอร์มเดิมพันที่ได้รับความนิยมสูงสุดในไทยและเอเชีย มีทุกอย่างครบในที่เดียว ทั้ง คาสิโนสด, สล็อตออนไลน์, กีฬา, และเกมพนันอื่น ๆ ที่ทำให้นักเดิมพันสนุกไปกับประสบการณ์การเดิมพันที่ดีที่สุด

    BK8 เว็บตรง เชื่อถือได้ 100%
    BK8 หรือที่รู้จักกันในชื่อ BK8 Thai
    เป็นเว็บพนันออนไลน์เว็บตรงที่ได้รับอนุญาตอย่างถูกต้อง มีระบบป้องกันข้อมูลขั้นสูง เข้าสู่ระบบ BK8
    ได้ง่าย ทั้งผ่านเว็บและแอปมือถือ แอพ BK8 รองรับiOS และ Android สามารถดาวน์โหลด BK8

    BK88 เครดิตฟรี และโปรโมชั่นสุดคุ้ม
    หากคุณกำลังมองหาโบนัสและเครดิตฟรี BK8 แจกเครดิตฟรี เช่น

    รับเครดิตฟรี 88 บาท สำหรับสมาชิกใหม่
    รับเงินฟรี 300 บาท แค่ลงทะเบียน
    BK8 โบนัส 100% สำหรับการฝากครั้งแรก
    BK8 โบนัส100 เพิ่มโอกาสชนะ
    BK88 Slot และBK8 คาสิโน
    BK8 ถือเป็นเว็บพนันสล็อตยอดนิยมที่มีเกมสล็อตจากค่ายดัง เช่น PG Slot,
    Joker, Pragmatic Play, Spadegaming รวมถึงเกมคาสิโนสดจาก SA
    Gaming, Sexy Baccarat, Evolution Gaming ให้ผู้เล่นเพลิดเพลินไปกับประสบการณ์การเดิมพันที่เร้าใจ

    BK8thai ทางเข้า อัปเดตใหม่
    ใช้งานง่าย
    หากมีปัญหา BK8 เข้าไม่ได้ เรามี BK8 ทางเข้า มือถือ
    อัปเดตทุกวัน เพื่อให้สมาชิกสามารถเข้าเล่นได้อย่างไม่มีสะดุด

    สมัครตอนนี้ รับ โบนัสฟรี
    และเริ่มต้นการเดิมพันกับ
    เว็บตรง BK8 ที่ดีที่สุดในขณะนี้

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *