Viewpoint: We can't sit back and do nothing as children are gunned down in our schools
In my 12 years in the Legislature, I’ve lost track of the number of bills we have heard and passed that expand access to firearms. Each time, the member cites safety as justification for the legislation. I debated against these bills because despite what my colleagues say, data shows us that more guns do not make us safer. Quite the opposite — as a string of breaking news banners have demonstrated — they make us less safe.
The Republican-led crusade to end gun regulations in Oklahoma culminated in 2019 when Gov. Kevin Stitt signed his very first piece of legislation as governor: permitless carry.
When she was governor, Mary Fallin vetoed the same legislation, but since Barack Obama was elected president, the power of Oklahoma’s gun lobby has grown tremendously.
Texas, another permitless carry state, is at the top of the list when it comes to guns per capita. If more guns made us safer, Texas would be one of the safest places on Earth. Instead, the state has high rates of gun suicide and homicide. It’s also home to four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings.
As Republican lawmakers rush to see who can be more pro-gun, it is naive to think that Oklahoma is on a more solid footing than our neighbors to the south.
Oklahoma has tried arming teachers by passing legislation allowing school personnel to carry guns with a certain level of training, but unsurprisingly, teachers don’t want to be armed. They want to teach. Additionally, the same lawmakers who are now clamoring to put AR-15s in the hands of teachers are the same lawmakers who last week didn’t trust those same teachers with textbooks.
When these mass shootings happen, there is a dance done by pro-gun politicians where every possible variable is looked at asthe reason for the shooting — every possible variable except the overabundance of guns in America.
One argument we hear against responsible gun regulation is that cities with high levels of gun violence, like Chicago or New York City, have strict gun laws, which is true. However, the cities and states around them don’t. If this country is going to get over its gun sickness, it is going to take all of us working together, which means Oklahoma has to do its part.
Pro-gun lobbyists also argue that if schools were protected by armed guards or law enforcement, these incidents would quit happening. Aside from making school a pretty scary place for kids, we know armed guards do not prevent school shootings.
In Uvalde, law enforcement officers engaged the shooter before he went into the school. He entered anyway and killed 21 people. At Parkland, law enforcement was present at the school; a shooter killed 17 people.
More guns are not the answer, and doing nothing is not working.
There are many common-sense ideas that deserve serious consideration: raising the age for gun and ammo purchases, instating a waiting period to purchase firearms, stronger universal background checks, red flag laws, and reinstating the assault weapon ban.
We’ve actually banned assault weapons in the past. America banned assault weapons, including the AR-15, for 10 years, and unsurprisingly, the deaths from assault weapons decreased during that time. These are the weapons that mass shooters use, and we know this is a policy solution that works. It’s past time to reinstate it.
I’m not willing to sit back and do nothing as children are gunned down in our schools. We need local, state, and federal lawmakers to step up, find solutions, and save lives. If they won’t, it is up to each of us to protect our children and vote them out.
Emily Virgin, D-Norman, is minority leader in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Viewpoints: Lawmakers need to step up to save lives from gun violence
