Opinion: Still wondering what we can do post-Uvalde?
It has been a little more than a month since an 18-year-old gunman strolled onto campus at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde and opened fire, killing 19 children and two teachers.
On Saturday, June 25, the last child -- Uziyah Garcia, 10 -- was eulogized and buried.
Again we find ourselves mourning the senseless loss of life as we rue the actions of a heavily-armed, emotionally-damaged, hate-filled killer. The fear, disbelief, and trauma of the victims and the anguish of the loved ones they left behind can only be vaguely imagined.
And for most of us, once again, we ask, is it necessary to live in such a society? Is it asking too much to assume we can be safe in our daily lives? What about our pursuit of happiness? What about our freedom from harm? Is there nothing anyone can do?
There are many causes that might be blamed for the actions of a growing number of mass killers: A childhood damaged by bullying and misunderstanding, an ineffective mental health system, more guns per person than anywhere else in the world, and almost no restrictions on these guns, their destructive power, or who can access them.
So again – is there anything we can do?
While we all tend to look to our politicians (Please don’t call them leaders! They don’t teach, they don’t explain, they don’t persuade) to do something, the answer to the question resides with us.
The Centers for Disease Control says that firearms are the leading cause of death among children and teens in the United States, and the Uvalde horror on May 24 was the deadliest of 2022.
According to a recent New York Times article, the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group, counted at least 278 mass shootings midway through this month. According to the group, there were 692 mass shootings last year, with 28 involving four or more fatalities.
Still wondering what we can do?
Here are some interesting facts:
• A majority of Americans are dissatisfied with our current gun laws and feel there should be more restrictions on guns;
• In any given election, only around 50% to 60% of the eligible voters actually vote, and it’s even lower in many primaries or off-year elections;
• Of those who vote, around 40% consider themselves to be independent voters;
• In any given election, typically, the margin of victory is less than 5% to 10%;
• Experts estimate that in any given election as many as 30% of the voters may be considered swing voters.
Voter turnout in the 2020 election was exceptionally high, with 66.8% of eligible voters going to the polls, according to the Brookings Institution.
These numbers add up to the fact that there is a lot of opportunity to change our society if we really want to. We can do this by asking local, state, and federal office seekers about their positions on gun control. Then we need to show up on election day and cast our vote for sensible people.
There are enough of us who are anguished by how guns and the gun lobby has taken over our society, and enough of us who have the numbers and therefore the power to change our society. But we must use our power. We must vote! We must not succumb to a way of life dictated by a minority of the population, many of whom employ extremely faulty logic, believing the answer to our problems is more guns.
At least for the time being, we live in a democracy. And though there appears to be many impending threats to the democracy created almost 250 years ago, the democracy that really makes America great, we still have a way to create the society we want. We need to use our power. We need to vote.
Please don’t cry about the next massacre if you have not used the power you have to control it.
David Westling is a Fletcher resident.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Opinion: Is there anything we can do post-Uvalde shooting?
