Gun violence motivation key to prevention

Santa Clarita, Duncan, Oklahoma, Fresno…. With several dead, and hurting, law enforcement officials are still in the process of unfolding the why and the how. So far, speculation supports crimes of passion, possible gang activity and the angst of a grieving teenager. 

If the past is prologue, these tragedies will spark yet another discussion of our second amendment rights. While the injured are still hospitalized, and while families are planning services, picking out coffins and sorting through the grim details of death, advocates on both sides of the debate are queuing up to reiterate long-held positions as though they are somehow made different by the most recent, sad events.

On the left it will be argued that guns are a significant contributing factor in these tragedies; that guns are too plentiful in our culture, too readily available, and too efficient as tools for the task.  They will call for limiting access to firearms with increased age limits, additional background checks, waiting periods and the elimination of private transfers of ownership. A spate of regulations referred to generally as “red flag laws” will be sought to create mechanisms for removing guns from, and preventing the sale to, individuals considered at risk of harm to themselves and others.

Those further to the left will also argue for legislation similar to the 1994 “assault rifle” ban that regulated the sale of civilian rifles bearing features, mostly cosmetic, associated with military weapons.  On the extremes, activists will propose gun buy-back programs, if not outright confiscation.

On the right, advocates of the Second Amendment will remind us that gun ownership is part of the American political and social fabric, that we have a constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms, and that those rights “shall not be infringed” in any way. They will point out that the red flag proposals not only constitute an infringement of the second amendment but that they pose a threat to first and fourth amendment rights as well. They will also note that if the shooters didn’t care that it’s against the law to kill, they won’t likely be concerned about magazine capacity either. Further, they will point to the folly of the poorly written, ineffective ’94 rifle ban and mentions of buybacks and confiscation will be dismissed as political self-destruction.

What will not be heard, is that while the mass tragedies in schools and suburbs get noticeably more publicity, the majority of gun victims in the United States are minorities living in gang-controlled urban centers plagued by generations of poverty and desperation. Nor will we hear that the majority of mass shootings are committed by people who are suicidal. Nor will it be acknowledged that people in different regions of the country use firearms in very different ways.

In Southwest Nebraska, particularly in the fall, we see rifle cases coming through the airport, our hotels and restaurants are busy with hunters, and photos appear on social media of families dressed in camouflage surrounding twelve-year-old girls clutching the antlers of a first-taken buck.  It’s because of this familiarity that we know that all semi-automatic rifles are functionally the same. We understand that what comes out of the business end of an AR is no different from that of a ranch rifle.

What we, here, don’t understand is the socioeconomic environment that perpetuates gang culture or how it takes so many young, unfulfilled lives, and what absolutely no one seems to understand is that we are in the midst of a mental health epidemic. Thankfully, the suicide rate among veterans is now getting the attention it deserves and efforts to help are underway.  What has gone relatively unreported is a significant increase in segments of the civilian population. The Centers for Disease Control make it their business to track causes of death in our country and they tell us that the suicide rate among people ages 10 to 24 years old increased by 56% between 2007 and 2014 (remember, most mass shooters are suicidal, male and in their late teens or early twenties).

Personally, I would like to see and hear less about tinkering with legal gun ownership and learn more about the motivations behind these tragedies. I would prefer that we have a national dialogue about the psychological and socioeconomic issues that have manifested this epidemic of despair and violence, but I’m not counting on seeing it on the Sunday talk shows. We’ll just hear more talking points about guns.

If you or anyone you know are experiencing depression or having thoughts of suicide, please seek help from the CDC’s National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or suicidepreventionlifeline.org