Gun Violence Isn’t a “Fact of Life”—on the Campaign Trail, or Anywhere

Despite what the NRA and MAGA
politicians invite us to believe, we do not have to treat the ceaseless flood
of gun casualties in American morgues and hospital emergency rooms as an
inescapable, “tragic” part of human existence on earth. In fact, gun violence
in our society is eminently preventable because experts agree that the easy
availability of unrestricted guns is the chief cause of the colossal loss of
life we face from guns every year. 

But instead of acting on popular
gun sense bills to create a universal violent felon background check or to
remove weapons of war from school communities, GOP leaders like Vance and Lindsey
Graham strike the pose of Marie Antoinette. After every massacre, we are
invited to share their blasé attitude that “c’est la vie,” and “Let them eat
thoughts and prayers.” As Donald Trump bluntly urged Americans after a recent
mass shooting, we “have to get over it, we have to move forward.”   

But contrast this
passive-aggressive response to an assault weapon mass shooting at a public
school with the GOP’s muscular response to an assault weapon mass shooting
involving Trump himself. After the attempted assassination at Trump’s July 13
rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, Republicans did not throw up their hands and
bemoan AR-15 gun violence as a sorrowful “fact of life.” They joined Democrats
not only in aggressively condemning this appalling act of violence but in
demanding a thorough federal investigation, insisting upon both House and
Senate hearings. When those hearings uncovered myriad failures in the Secret
Service’s preparations and response, the then-director of the Secret Service,
Kimberly Cheatle, promptly resigned, making way for refocused leadership to
improve security at presidential campaign events. Republicans seem to know how
to act aggressively to protect Donald Trump and his rallygoers from mass
shootings and AR-15 gun violence.