Lloyd: The role of parents and the government in mass shootings
This is a column by Wanda Lloyd, a retired newspaper editor and author of “COMING FULL CIRCLE: From Jim Crow to Journalism.”
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” - Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The recent horrific shootings took me to the source - the U.S. Constitution. As a journalist, I have always prided myself on fully understanding the First Amendment, which gives us “freedom of the press,” and four other freedoms: the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom to petition the government. I’ve even worked in news organization buildings where the First Amendment is artfully emblazoned on lobby walls.
I understand that in the Second Amendment the framers gave citizens the right to “bear arms.” Members of my family have owned pistols and hunting rifles, and they responsibly stored them in locked cases, well out of reach of children and other adults. I’ve never been a gun owner and I don’t plan to own or use a gun. So, until now, I haven’t concerned myself with the phrasing in the Second Amendment.
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Mass shootings raise questions
But here we are, having conversations in this nation, not only about how and why people see the need to “bear arms” for personal protection or hunting but also to own and use high-powered weapons. In this country, we have seen more than 300 mass shootings so far in 2022.
After the July 4th shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he is “furious” about the loss of life. I’m furious about how we got here, in this place where we have normalized phrases like “I never thought it would happen in this community.”
I’m no lawyer, so my understanding and interpretation of the constitution are simplistic. And I’m not even sure it matters the depth of my constitutional knowledge. My concerns are more about common sense.
I question parents and other adult relatives who support young people who want to own weapons that can cause what some on the scene in Highland Park described as “unspeakable” injuries to human life.
I’m confused and angry about adults who go through the process of “signing” to sponsor young people barely mature enough to drive safely. I question the maturity and wisdom of fully-grown men or women who would say they thought a 20-something son wanted weapons for “target practice,” like the father of the shooter in Highland Park. What kind of “target” would withstand a weapon made for military personnel to shoot in rapid fire to annihilate enemies of the state?
The role of parents in gun violence
So, here are my non-legal questions.
Who are these parents who allow their children to be locked in a basement or bedrooms in their homes and never check to see what they are doing there? Have family dynamics deteriorated to the extent that parent pass by a door in their own house and never look inside, never sit on the side of their son’s bed and have a decent conversation about what’s going on in their lives, in school or with their friends?
I know times have changed, but when young people in my generation were growing up, parents demanded that we thoroughly clean our rooms at least weekly before we could play with friends, watch TV, go out to a movie theater or attend a high school sports event. That meant our parents had to come into our rooms at least once a week for inspection. Seriously!
Who are these parents who enable their children to act out dangerous, and yes, deadly acts?
The role of the government in gun violence
As the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008, the militia of the founding era was the body of ordinary citizens capable of taking up arms to defend the nation. This, it appears, is the legal definition of “Militia” in the Second Amendment. But we no longer call on ordinary citizens to defend the nation. We leave that to the military and law enforcement.
However, Congress and state legislatures need to act quickly - now! Not next month, not next year, but now to move toward banning weapons that cause “unspeakable” human injuries. Until then, parents need to get a grip. Not one parent, teenager or young adult or anyone outside active-duty military needs to carry or use weapons of war.
Meanwhile, parents check on your young folks. Look under their beds or the back of their closets, if need be, and safely call on law enforcement if you see something that doesn’t look right. It could save lives.
This madness has got to stop.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Mass shootings 2022: Parents have a role in stopping gun violence
