I recently consulted with the family of a terminal cancer patient. From a cancer treatment standpoint, there was nothing I or anyone else could offer that would change the unrelenting progression of the cancer. Naturally, families grasp for answers. Why did the cancer happen? Why can’t it be cured? They think “doing nothing” closes the door to the miraculous. In the grief of the moment, a “Do something!” mentality can override the mandate to “First do no harm.”
I see the same grief reaction to the recent epidemic of mass shootings. “Do something!” we cry, expecting – no, demanding – the miraculous. Some (mistakenly) believe that we can just outlaw guns and the problem will be solved. This is just as irrational as demanding futile medical care. In the example of terminal cancer, even when cure is not possible, some medical interventions can provide comfort and relief. Similarly with mass shootings, there are things we might can do to help.
I grew up in West Texas around guns. It was common to see a shotgun in the gun rack in the back window of many pickup trucks. My extended family gets together to hunt dove every Labor Day. Honestly, I didn’t much care for it growing up, mainly because of a congenital eye defect that interfered with depth perception. I had to learn to overcome that deficit as an adult. My two brothers are excellent dove hunters. My nephew was named to the Junior All-American Skeet Team. Whereas my goal is simply to get a limit, my brothers and nephew compete to see who limits the fastest and with the fewest shells shot. Though my father died in 2014, the extended family still gathers over Labor Day to continue the hunting tradition.
I do not shoot much otherwise. I own a handgun and have a Texas “conceal carry” license (which, at the time I got mine, required training). Gun safety was drilled into me by my father and older brothers. I never thought about gun ownership and use as a sacred right, as some do today. And I certainly don’t have a gun fetish[1] or idolize guns.[2] “Responsible” and “gun ownership” were inseparable in my family. Owning and operating guns was a “right” that demanded maturity, respect, training, and accountability. A friend of mine’s teenage son thwarted a home invasion by brandishing a loaded firearm, scaring off the intruder without a shot being fired. I don’t want to outlaw their gun or mine. But a mentally unstable, potential mass shooter’s rights are not (or should not be) the same as yours and mine.
State Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, has been appointed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to head a newly formed Senate “Special Committee to Protect All Texans,” established in the aftermath of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde that killed 21 people. This committee has been urged by Gov. Greg Abbott to “reassess the twin issues of school safety and mass violence.”[3] “Meaningful solutions” and “significant reforms” are promised. Unfortunately, Abbott has already ruled out “gun restrictions.”
If Abbott really wants to help, he should not be taking anything off the table before the conversation even starts. A committee such as this should be allowed to humbly look at all possible interventions, whether they offend Red or Blue, and let the citizens – taxpayers, voters – see where the evidence does and does not lead, unprejudiced by preconceived ideas and political posturing.
Recently, Chicago archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich said, "The Second Amendment, unlike the second commandment, did not come down from Sinai."[4] His point was that the value of human life is the only ultimate “right.” Restricting guns may or may not have evidence to support it. “Doing something” could be worse than doing nothing, if the “something” is wrong. We must look at the evidence and keep our expectations in check. Philosophically, I don’t believe government can “solve” the problem of mass shootings. But I expect government can help define reasonable guardrails when it comes to gun safety.
Ideas that have been floated range from the ludicrous (arming teachers) to the incremental (raising the age to purchase firearms to 21, similar to tobacco and alcohol). Other proposed interventions are universal background checks, assault weapons and large capacity magazine bans, and waiting periods. State and national legislators need the freedom and breathing room to critically evaluate each of these.
The most intriguing idea, in my mind – and one that is getting a lot of traction lately – is implementing “red flag” laws. The fact is, almost all mass shooters – including the Uvalde murderer – leak their plans before opening fire.[5] If you are not familiar with red flag laws, here is a great summary from one of its most knowledgeable advocates, David French:
Red-flag laws include laws of various names and types—they’re sometimes referred to as “gun-violence restraining orders” or “extreme-risk protection orders” or a “severe-threat order of protection”—that allow defined sets of individuals (usually family members, school officials, and police) to seek an order from a court requiring the police to temporarily seize guns from a person who exhibits dangerous or threatening behavior.[6]
Red flag laws appear to be both evidence-based[7] and targeted, plus they allow the mental health system to get engaged as well. They deserve our attention.[8] Many Texas gun enthusiast GOP donors are urging Congress to act on red flag laws as well as expanded background checks and a higher age minimum to buy firearms.[9]
With so many mass shootings lately, I’m surprised I haven’t seen a “Do something!” bumper sticker yet. Perhaps with the Nichols committee in Austin and with US Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) leading bipartisan negotiations in Congress, “something” might be happening. May they be thoughtful and open to reasonable, rational dialogue about how to prevent mass shootings and protect potential victims – yes, while maintaining our rights (these ideas are not mutually exclusive). The parents of the Uvalde schoolchildren – indeed, all of us – are watching.
[1] https://thetriad.thebulwark.com/p/the-gun-fetish-is-not-normal?s=r
[2] https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/against-gun-idolatry?s=r
[4] https://www.npr.org/2022/06/03/1102681056/chicago-archbishop-adds-voice-outcry-against-gun-violence
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/05/nyregion/red-flag-law-shootings-new-york.html
[8] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/05/nyregion/red-flag-law-shootings-new-york.html
