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When my daughter was little, my husband and I tried to safeguard her against people who might do her harm. \u201cIt\u2019s OK to kick and scream,\u201d we told Emma. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be nice if someone tries to hurt you. Not everyone is a good person.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose bad guys better watch out!\u201d Emma replied. \u201cI\u2019m gonna have safety pins with me, and if they try to get me, I\u2019m just gonna take out my pins and stab them!\u201d<\/p>\n
I loved my daughter\u2019s confidence in her strength, her ability to quell her fears by standing up to danger. No matter that her plan for protection was childish folly.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re now seeing a similar impulse play out on a national scale.<\/p>\n
The New York Times<\/em> reports<\/a> that in the wake of the latest mass shootings here and in Paris, Americans are rushing to arm themselves. When something frightening happens, people want to feel safe and in control. Their fear of becoming a victim is transformed by the illusion of invincibility.<\/p>\n The gun lobby and its political minions masterfully exploit this psychological dynamic by stoking fear, then offering a reassuring (though false) \u201csolution\u201d like the one promulgated after 20 six-year-olds were gunned down at Sandy Hook three years ago today. \u201cThe only thing that\u00a0stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,\u201d proclaimed<\/a> NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre in response to that horrific massacre.<\/p>\n This sentiment has been echoed by the Republican Presidential contenders in response to more recent mass shootings. The day after the San Bernardino massacre, Ted Cruz proclaimed<\/a> at a gun rights rally, “you don’t stop bad guys by taking away our guns, you stop bad guys by using our guns.” A couple of months before, Ben Carson essentially blamed the victims of a heavily armed gunman at Umpqua Community College by saying<\/a>, \u201cI would not just stand there and let him shoot me.\u201d<\/p>\n If only it were that easy!<\/p>\n Yet the research<\/a>\u2014not to mention law enforcement and military personnel–overwhelmingly contradict this simplistic notion. \u201cGood guys\u201d unloading their weapons against an active shooter in a public space would\u00a0likely result in greater mayhem and casualties. Guns on alcohol-infused campuses are a recipe for disaster. \u00a0The risk of gun deaths from homicide, suicide, or accidental shootings is\u00a0much higher when there\u2019s a gun in the home. And guns, in the heat of the moment, can turn a \u201cgood guy\u201d into a killer instantaneously. More guns mean more gun deaths.<\/p>\n Yet reason doesn\u2019t seem to stand a chance against fear and its exploitation. In the three years since Sandy Hook, Congress has done nothing to enact gun-safety legislation. Although some states have tightened restrictions on guns, many more have actually made it easier to purchase and carry guns.<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s one thing for my young daughter to fantasize about wielding her safety-pins for protection. But it\u2019s quite another to arm ourselves to stay safe from gun violence. As adults, we should know better.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n Had enough? One of the reasons we have failed to enact more common-sense gun-safety laws is that those who support such measures don’t speak out. You can bet gun- rights advocates don’t make that mistake. Contact your representatives. Rally. Sign petitions. Vote your principles. And check out these organizations that are working hard to make a difference:<\/em><\/p>\n Everytown for Gun Safety<\/a><\/p>\n Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America<\/a><\/p>\n Newtown Action Alliance<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When my daughter was little, my husband and I tried to safeguard her against people who might do her harm. \u201cIt\u2019s OK to kick and scream,\u201d we told Emma. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be nice if someone tries to hurt … Continue reading