America needs a new path forward
As I reread editorials I have written about gun violence since Sandy Hook, in the wake of the Robb Elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, it was like deja vu.
America is living it again: the nightmare news, the parents and grandparents with their souls ripped out, the families who will live the rest of their lives like they are walking into the wind.
In February 2018, the New York Times reported there had been 239 school shootings in the U.S. As of this week, in 2022, there have been 948 school shootings since Sandy Hook, according to sandyhookpromise.org. Guns are now the leading cause of death among American children and teens.
Lawmakers who want you to think that monumental gun violence problems can be solved by arming teachers or putting billions of dollars in fencing around every school in America, are running from the truth. They want you to do the same. Proposing ridiculous solutions diverts voters’ attention from the facts.
What we need is bipartisan support for common sense laws. Candidates who are willing to support measures that will protect us all, deserve to be reelected. Perhaps addressing gun violence will finally bring lawmakers back to “reaching across the aisle.”
More: Where six Democrats for Congress stand on guns and economy
Congressman Adam Kinzinger is a voice of reason in a Republican Party that has become difficult to recognize.
On the May 29, 2022 edition of "This Week with George Stephanopoulos," Kinzinger was asked why he fell out of favor with the NRA. He responded that he has realized that “the only thing the NRA cares about is making money on your back.”
There is no one solution to the disgraceful, heart-breaking problem of mass shootings, but that doesn’t mean there are no solutions.
Enacting common sense gun legislation has worked to lower gun crimes in other nations. Common sense gun legislation often fails in the U.S. because there is a gun lobby/industrial complex that stokes conservative campaign funds. Federal Election Commission Data shows that in 2016, the NRA spent more than 30 million dollars on the Trump campaign.
Comparing America’s gun violence to other countries is staggering. America had 37,038 total gun deaths in 2019, according to worldpopulationreview.com. Britain had 33 in 2019.
There is a contingency of conservative American lawmakers, seemingly led by Senator Ted Cruz, that would have you believe reenacting the assault weapons ban would not make a difference because there are already so many assault weapons, there is no going back. The truth is there is no going back because they don’t want to. These legislators are serving themselves, not their constituents or the school children who are murdered by people who can buy an assault rifle at 18.
While victims’ families were still sobbing over small white crosses, Cruz spewed divisive garbage about how the media always wants to talk about gun control after a mass shooting. Electing common sense candidates is a step toward ending gun violence.
America needs a new path forward, one that isn’t paved with the inaction of legislators, strewn with the bodies of victims, and flooded with the tears of survivors. Enough.
Paula Coulahan is a teacher in the Rockford Public Schools. She is a member of Teachers for Social Justice, MoveOn.Org (United Against Hate), and Everytown for Gun Safety (Moms Demand Action) national and local chapters.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: America needs a new path forward
