G.U.N.S. — Growing Up Never Scared: Guest MINDSETTER™ Berbrick
Walter Berbick, Guest MINDSETTER™
G.U.N.S. — Growing Up Never Scared: Guest MINDSETTER™ Berbrick
In 2019 alone, 275 people have been killed and 1,055 wounded in 253 mass shootings across America. Needless to say, my generation, having spent a lifetime seeing one mass shooting after another, has learned that our voices are powerful and that it now falls on us to change this broken system we’ve inherited.
After the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, we said never again. Since then, at least 2,457 have been killed and 9,120 wounded in over 2,000 mass shootings. And almost no state is immune. As traumatic and surprising as they are, mass shootings account for a tiny fraction of gun-related deaths in America. In fact, every single year, over 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns. Over half have come from suicides alone, followed by homicides. Hundreds of thousands have had to learn to live without limbs and loved ones.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAmerica leads the developed world in gun violence. One big reason for that is that America has the laxest gun laws — and the most guns — of any developed country. Empirical research has consistently found that places with easier access to guns and more firearms have more gun deaths.
Despite all this, Washington has failed to act.
Lots of factors go into gun violence—and we should focus on them all. But when it comes to learning about the main cause of violence in America—the gun—we know very little. We know vastly less than we should about guns, gun violence, and gun control. We know vastly less about the motives of mass shooters because we can’t talk to the dead.
It’s especially difficult to understand this problem if you don’t actually study it. Up until two years ago, Congress didn’t allow federal dollars to be spent on research into gun control. What really matters now is the amount of money actually available for gun violence research. So when Congress returns from summer recess, it’s first act should be to appropriate $500 million dollars for high-quality research that will inform efforts to reduce firearm deaths and injuries.
Despite little movement along this front, here’s what we do know. According to a project funded by the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, the vast majority of shooters dating back to 1966 experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence at a young age. Practically every mass shooter reached a crisis point in the weeks or months leading up to the shooting. Most of the shooters had studied the actions of other shooters and sought validation for their motives. And all of them had the means to carry out their plans—access to a firearm.
Mass shootings like the one in El Paso should be condemned by America’s leaders as terrorism. If we want to stop white nationalist attacks, we should treat them like the terrorists they are. They are not mentally ill. They are hateful. That’s why Congress should pass federal laws that treat them as domestic terrorists and gives law enforcement the tools they need to thwart future attacks. And like those before him, the shooter in El Paso had the means to carry out his manifesto—a firearm.
We need to fight this unnecessary violence with common sense gun safety legislation. Congress must take the first step by making it illegal to possess semi-automatic assault rifles and large-capacity magazines. We need to adopt new measures that limit access of firearms to the mentally ill, criminals, and terrorists. We should do this through a federal gun buyback program at market rate and universal background checks on all gun buyers and sellers — including those on the internet and at gun shows. We should raise the age limit to 21, and require that every citizen obtain a license, registration, and permit to own and operate a firearm—no matter the kind.
As a society, we must do better. Congress should pass laws that help us recognize the major risk factors that lead to violence and make it easier to report “red flag” behaviors that point to violence or mental illness.
But these laws won’t work unless they are designed and implemented in rigorous and effective ways—which means we need to create new ways to better enforce existing gun laws as well as those proposed here. We need as many new ideas as possible because the old ones don’t seem to be working.
Most importantly, we have to fight this unnecessary violence with our values—the values of tolerance and diversity that are the hallmark of our democracy. When we take the time to listen and learn from one another, when we speak truth to power—only then can we begin to find common ground, build bridges across our differences, and create the kind of change our nation desperately needs and deserves. That’s the progress of America. And that’s when we’re at our best.
The President and our “leaders” in Congress must start—leaders from both houses and both parties must compromise and take us to a better place. Pass the laws to protect us from white nationalist terrorists. Do what people call for—make us safer and prevent guns from getting in the wrong hands. Get back to Washington and do your job. Keep our hearts from breaking again, please.
Until all of us stand up and hold our public officials accountable to change our laws, these tragedies will keep happening. No child should ever grow up scared of guns.
Dr. Walter Berbrick is an Associate Professor in the War Gaming Department at the U.S. Naval War College, a term member with the Council on Foreign Relations, and a Community Volunteer Leader with the American Red Cross of Rhode Island. He is a Navy veteran and former Senior Advisor at the Department of State.The views expressed here are his own.