It already seems like more than three days since Sandy Hook Elementary School and the hamlet of Newtown, Connecticut first entered our consciousness. This most recent in our nightmare series of massacres, the thirtieth since Colorado's Columbine High School (see list here) in 1999, is just one more, just the latest. And yet it isn't. This time it's different. We have watched the growing frequency of these rampages, but now a line has been crossed with the slaughter of twenty little children. Now, finally, the ground seems to have shifted. Now, at last, there is a sense that action will be taken. The question is, what?
The problem is complex. There isn't just one reason the United States has fifteen times the per capita gun deaths of the other industrialized countries. No one solution will solve the carnage on its own. And make no mistake, no matter what we do, there will be more of these mass murders in the future. But the fact that we cannot eliminate the problem completely no longer means that we should do nothing and put up with the evil as it gets steadily worse. We haven't eliminated road fatalities either, and yet actions we have taken--seat belts, air bags, reinforcement bars, cars designed with crumple zones, better road engineering, lighting, signage, and a societal sea change against drunk driving to name some--have resulted in cutting the number of fatalities significantly over the years.
Major voices are speaking out again. It started in the New York times with Nicholas Kristof. Mayor Bloomberg added his voice. President Obama's remarks yesterday at Newtown's interfaith memorial service, that "We can't tolerate this anymore. We aren't doing enough and we will have to change," made it clear that business as usual is not acceptable, and that the weight of the presidency will soon be engaged. The consensus for action is spreading. This morning conservative Republican Joe Scarborough repudiated his previous thinking and spoke at length about the imperative need to take action.
Here's what need to be done. First, we have to reimpose the assault weapons ban, that is, we must get rid of automatic and semiautomatic rapid fire weapons. That includes a program to buy back as many as we can that are already out there. We have to restrict rounds in magazines and clips to some reasonable number such as 9 or 10. A massacre is only possible when the killer has a weapon capable of perpetrating one. Along with that, we have to make sure everyone who buys a gun has a background check. Forty percent of gun sales (at gun shows) need not be screened. That has to stop. We don't excuse 40% of drivers from having to take the tests necessary to get a driver's license. We don't neglect to screen 40% of the passengers getting on a plane. Next, all the security lists have to be coordinated, brought up to date and put online for all dealers and law enforcement agencies to see. A person on a terrorist watch list who is not allowed to get on a plane should not be allowed to buy explosives or a gun, either. As these things are done, gun owners have to be included and have a say in the conversation at the table. They must be reassured that no one's hunting rifle or target or personal protection pistol is being taken away. The vast majority of gun owners are decent and law-abiding citizens. They don't want criminals with military assault weapons either. They don't go dove, quail or deer hunting with AK-47s and AR-15s.
We also have to do a much better job of identifying and treating people with dangerous psychological conditions. Read this piece for one woman's chilling account of trying to control her violently delusional son. Mental health services have been cut too much. Too many people are not getting the help they need. Too many families are overwhelmed and have nowhere to turn until crimes are committed and the justice system is left to deal with the wreckage. Yes, people have rights. But society has a right to be protected, too. Where is the line? There needs to be one.
Finally, what in society is fostering a climate of death and mayhem? Is there an eroticism of the power of violence? Are violent video games, movies and music contributing? If so, to what extent? Who is vulnerable? Are we making things worse by publicizing the names and pictures of the authors of these heinous atrocities? Can the social climate itself be changed? Look at what has happened over the years to the former acceptability of such practices as drunk driving, smoking and racial and gender discrimination. When society decides that something is not cool, but contemptuous, real changes in behavior, changes for the good, can take place. It's time to engage the findings of the behavioral sciences to sort these things out. Let's get to work.
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