Opinion: Path to break gun control advocate response loop

Every mass shooting is undoubtedly tragic. There are bad people out there willing to do terrible things. We should do everything we can to fix this. That starts by acknowledging the cultural influence. Violence on TV and in video games desensitizes us to the horrible real-world ramifications. Violence in movies, TV and video games are more vicious than ever. Call it thought pollution, with similar long-term effects.

A video game player can control an avatar − the supposed protagonist − in a realistic world as he or she carjacks someone, shoots that victim, steals the car, and runs over people on the sidewalk who get in the way. It’s a sure sign of a growingly secular society that has lost its moral compass.

Gun control advocates contend that law-abiding, pro-gun rights citizens are the ones out of cultural touch. We hear them claim that our founding fathers used muskets − limiting constitutional protection to only those kinds of guns. Such a narrow view would mean that the Constitution’s "freedom of the press" doesn’t protect news delivered by radio, video, or online. The Bill of Rights is better than that. It’s a list meant not for the founders, but for the descendants of the founders. It reminds us that our rights and liberties come from God, and shall not be infringed upon by the government.

We also hear gun control advocates mock with derision the idea that the Second Amendment serves as a deterrent to government overreach. People with AR-15s, they laugh, fighting against the U.S. Army? As if the might of the U.S. military cancels out the right of the people to stand up to tyranny. Tories similarly sneered at the idea of New England farmers standing up to the colossal British military. Should a day of actual tyranny come, gun control advocates’ eyes will be opened like latter-day Scrooges after a visit from the Ghost of Government Oppression, and off they’ll go to the nearest gun store to start the clock on a government-required waiting period.

Following the most recent school shooting, a teacher quickly tweeted, "they won’t let us pick textbooks, but they want to give us guns?" Yes. Correct. This isn’t inconsistent. It’s entirely reasonable to oppose teachers intentionally indoctrinating children into their worldview and political beliefs and also to support trained and willing volunteer teachers being armed to protect kids’ lives.

Now, we’re moving through the phases of what I’ve termed the Gun Control Advocate Response Loop. First comes anger. Anger is understandable, but gun control advocates rarely direct it at the actual culprit. Instead, blame gets thrust on guns themselves, law-abiding gunowners, stores that sell guns and gun manufacturers.

Next comes finger-pointing. Joe Biden, whose party held the presidency and majorities in both houses of Congress for nearly two years, inexplicably blamed Republicans for standing in the way of solutions. The president could bypass his perceived GOP roadblock by calling for conventions of the states to consider amending the Constitution, but he won’t.

The next stop in the loop features gun control advocates demanding action, taking the president’s example by yelling about Republicans’ refusal to support "commonsense" solutions. This is code for solutions that aren’t constitutional, and thus aren’t very common. Or agreed upon by most common folks.

Eventually the hubbub will die down again until the next tragic shooting − when they’ll start around the loop all over again with even higher pitched fervor.

We need to break this cycle. That starts by rejecting untenable options mislabeled as common sense for realistic, constitutional solutions. Like, yes, arming teachers. Well-trained teachers, who feel comfortable being armed, would both serve as a preventive measure and as an effective response in the event of an active shooting.

Or ensuring that schools have resource officers trained both as a liaison to students and to respond in a crisis. That would be common sense, but we’ve seen liberal school boards expel police on the grounds that they make some students feel uncomfortable.

Or improving our mental health system so that people who need and want help get it quicker, and making sure that those who are judged truly an imminent threat are disarmed and properly monitored would go a long way.

We should and must come together on this. The path forward isn’t through a repeating loop, it’s the same trail we’ve traveled since 1776, lit by the bright shining beacon of freedom.

Matt Dole is a communications consultant who lives in Newark and works in Columbus.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Path to break gun control advocate response loop