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Abstract
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he gun lobby is too strong, politicians too weak
Sadly, we've been here before. Many times. I've written about this before.1234 Many times.
Our regular television programming is interrupted. We learn that someone has easily procured a powerful handgun or rifle, with dozens of rounds of ammunition, and has killed many innocent children and adults. He (it is almost always a man) has been killed by police, or he has been taken into custody.
We know what comes next: nationwide outrage, presidential visits to the city or town, pledges to pass new laws that will prevent this in the future. But nothing will happen. Until the next killer strikes. And the cycle repeats.
The killing last week of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, defies rational explanation or discussion. The videos of the families and townspeople are too painful to watch. The governor of Texas insists that he is working on fixing the problem by "hardening" schools against this threat and improving identification and care of people with mental disorders.5 But, he assures us, guns are not the problem. Everyone in America should have the right to buy a semi-automatic rifle and ammunition as soon as they turn 18, without even a background investigation, he says. We wouldn't want to infringe on their rights.
Forgive my cynicism, but I've just re-read the previous commentaries I've written on gun violence in The BMJ since 2011, and they all sound alike: can we be moved to action by this horrendous massacre? Is this time maybe different? Other countries have changed their laws--can't we? Is harm reduction an answer?
It's not as though we don't know what to do: outlaw private ownership of powerful semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines for handguns; mandate background checks before gun ownership; and institute "red flag" laws to prevent sales to high risk purchasers. But it won't happen. The gun lobby in the US is too strong, and politicians are too weak. Shockingly, stock prices for gun companies actually rose the day after Uvalde.6 For some reason Americans seem to need to have guns readily available.
So, what to do? Perhaps all that's left is to talk to our children and hold them tight...
Language: en |