Over the weekend, three students, also members of the University of Virginia football team, were shot to death by a former teammate. The suspect has been taken into custody and is being held on three counts of second-degree murder, though a motive for the killings hasn’t been reported. In response, President Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered the administration’s condolences quickly, followed by, “We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off of America’s streets…” This is where gun grabbers go off the rails and lose all credibility.
Every article I’ve read on this shooting makes it very clear that the suspect used a handgun to perpetrate his heinous act, not a so-called “assault weapon.” Winston Churchill hit the nail on the head when he said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” and politicians rarely miss their opportunity. A renewed ban on these “weapons of war” has been ongoing since the “Assault Weapons Ban of 1994” sunset in 2004 and was not renewed by Congress. Why not, you might ask? Well, there are many political reasons for this, one of which is they likely didn’t have the votes in both chambers at the time. However, it’s likely the inability to prove that the ban was effective in any of the measures for which it was originally passed.
If you look at this based on raw numbers alone, banning or restricting rifles doesn’t make sense anyway. According to the FBI Uniform Crime Statistics – 2019 is the most recent data available – of the 13,927 murders committed in the United States; only 215 were confirmed to have been carried out by using a rifle, that’s just 0.015%. More murders were committed with the use of hands and feet. With those numbers in mind, what exactly do the politicians expect to accomplish by enacting another purported “assault weapons ban”? It likely has little to do with solving any existing problem and everything to do with exerting control over any portion of the population they can. I hate to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I see no other plausible endgame.
So what can we do as a society to stem the skyrocketing violence being experienced across the country? Unfortunately, this is neither a simple task nor will it be quick by any stretch of the imagination. I get an up-close and personal view of violence inflicted on people regularly, and I also regularly interact with members of the public (from all backgrounds and walks of life). When it comes to those who have attacked others, I see a common theme that is two-fold:
First, they often show no sense of morality and respect for the value of human life. Second, they do not fear repercussions for their actions or simply do not care.
To address the first issue, which I believe is more root to the cause than the latter, no laws can be enacted to correct this. This issue must be addressed by anyone involved with children as they develop, but most importantly, their parents. The sanctity of human life is imperative to us, not only progressing as a species but ultimately surviving. The current generation of young people seems to have a dissociative idea of reality. Likes and shares on social media mean more than physical in-person relationships, likely a leading cause of an increasing number of teens experiencing severe depression. Social media distorts reality and creates an environment conducive to bullying.
Bullying is a real epidemic, but at least if you bully someone to their face, there is a risk of physical reprisal. Online, though, you can bully from thousands of miles away with zero risk of physical response. I firmly believe that if you punch a bully in the nose (I did, repeatedly), it will resolve the issue nine times out of 10. I do not condone violence to resolve issues, but if you’re left with no alternative means to defend yourself and your dignity, you do what you must. But again, this is a problem whose root is at home, and no laws or school discipline policies can stand in as a cure.
The second issue is an accelerated road toward “bail reform” throughout the United States. On its face, I agree with many points of bail reform’s goal of reducing the incarceration of people accused of low-level, non-violent crimes. Too often, however, the revolving door is extended to those accused of violently victimizing others. It is tricky to balance the community’s safety with the legal theory of “innocent until proven guilty.” It is imperative, however, that we hold accountable those who would physically victimize others. No plea deals for violent and habitual offenders, sentence enhancements and mandatory time for the use of firearms during the commission of crimes.
Tough on crime is still an “after the fact” band-aid that does little to stem the problem at its core. We will never stop crime altogether, but those of us who have the opportunity to affect the path, perspective, and education of our children must do so at every opportunity. Additionally, outside of the controls of government, we must hold each other accountable for bad parenting decisions (e.g. participation trophies) and social constructs. Kids are not perfect, and that’s okay, it’s part of the learning and development process. Remember, it takes a village, but if everyone in the village is too worried about themselves, we will only perpetuate the status quo and ultimately regress as a society.
