When Will It Be Enough?

When will it be enough? When will we finally decide that children deserve to be safe in schools? That teachers deserve to come home from work. That grandparents deserve to checkout at a grocery store. That mental health is health. That safety is not the opposite of freedom. That you can’t solve gun violence with more guns. That there is a direct connection between bigotry, poverty, and violence.

From Moms Demand Action, Everytown, and the Gun Violence Archive:

• As of Tuesday, there have been at least 213 mass shootings in 2022. The archive defines a masss hooting as one in which four or more people were injured or killed, not including the shooter.
• So far this year, there have been at least 77 incidents of gunfire on school grounds. These numbers are a continuation of an alarming trend—the first half of the 2021-2022 school year was the deadliest in recent history.
• So far, there have been more mass shootings than days in 2022—including the racist attack at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store a little over a week ago that left 10 dead.
• Latinx communities bear a disproportionate brunt of the United States’ gun violence crisis. Latinx people are twice as likely to die by gun homicide and four times as likely to be wounded by an assault with a gun as white people. Latinx children and teens are three times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than their white peers.
• It is even worse for Black Americans who experience 10 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries and nearly three times the fatal police shootings of white Americans.

But you know what? These statistics don’t matter. Because they aren’t new and America’s gun violence epidemic is getting worse. So, I really am asking: when will it be enough?

I’ll close by sharing some myths about gun violence:

Myth

Criminals will always find a way to get their hands on a gun.

Fact

Laws like background checks stop gun sales to criminals every day. Since 1994, these laws have blocked more than 4 million gun sales to people who could not legally own guns.

Myth

Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.

Fact

People with guns kill people, and more efficiently than people without guns. The U.S. gun homicide rate is 25x higher than that of other high-income countries.

Myth

Federal law prohibits ALL domestic abusers from having guns.

Fact

Federal law generally does not cover abusive dating partners or convicted stalkers.

Myth

Strong gun laws don’t work. Look at Chicago.

Fact

Chicago proves why we must push for strong federal gun laws. Many of the guns used in crime in Chicago can be traced back to nearby states with weaker gun laws.

Myth

A small child cannot pull a trigger.

Fact

Every year, hundreds of children age 17 and under gain access to a gun and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else—sometimes fatally.

Myth

The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Fact

If more guns everywhere made us safer, America would be the safest country on earth. Instead, we have a gun homicide rate 25x that of other high-income countries.

Myth

Arming teachers will keep our kids safer in schools.

Fact

Arming teachers ignores research that shows the presence of a gun increases the risks posed to children and teachers.  School safety experts and law enforcement oppose arming teachers.

Myth

We don’t own guns, so I don’t need to worry about my kids getting hold of one.

Fact

Nearly 4.6 million U.S. children live in a household with at least one loaded, unsecured gun. Children and teens access guns in homes other than their own.

Myth

Everyone already has to get a background check when buying a gun.

Fact

Federal law only requires licensed dealers to perform background checks. That means that millions of guns are exchanged each year without one – often online or at gun shows.

Myth

Red flag laws take guns from people without due process.

Fact

A judge can only issue a final red flag order following a hearing of which the person is given notice and during which they have an opportunity to be heard. Red flag laws also allow an individual to petition to terminate an existing order.

Myth

Stand Your Ground laws provide everyone an equal right to self-defense.

Fact

Stand Your Ground laws have a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Across the country, research shows that when white shooters kill Black victims, the resulting homicides are considered justifiable far more frequently than when the shooter is Black and the victim is white.

Myth

Stay-at-home orders and social distancing due to COVID-19 have decreased gun violence.

Fact

Unprecedented increases in gun sales, combined with economic distress and social isolation due to COVID-19, are intensifying the country’s long-standing gun violence crisis.

Myth

Gun violence affects Black and white people in the U.S. equally.

Fact

Black people in the U.S. are disproportionately impacted by various forms of gun violence. They experience nearly 10 times the gun homicides, 18 times the gun assault injuries, and 3 times the fatal police shootings of white people in the U.S.

Myth

Active shooter drills make students and school staff more safe in the case of an active shooter.

Fact

There is no evidence to show student participation in active shooter drills saves lives and data shows they do cause trauma and anxiety. The best way to protect schools from school shootings are proven threat assessment programs and gun safety laws.