First, let me start off by expressing my deepest condolences for those affected by the shooting in Tucson. My deepest sorrow is reserved Christina Taylor Green, the nine-year-old cut down before she reached her true potential. That she was born on September 11th and died in this horrible event is saddening; a life bookended by terror. It is indicative, I think, of how we live in an age of fear.
I won't be discussing the events directly, or the shooter, or the debate over the causes. We've heard them all, repeatedly. I am interested in solutions; finding means to insure tragedies like this become rarer, and eventually non-existant. What follows is a list of ideas.
Immediate Solutions
1. Outlaw the sale of high-capacity magazines. Why does the civilian population need a magazine that holds twenty or thirty rounds? Hunters shouldn't need more than two, maybe three bullets to take down game. If you need more than two rounds to defend yourself, you need the police more than you need your gun. Bottom line, I cannot think of a rational justification for civilians to own high-capacity magazines.
2. Improve the background check system. Currently the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) works like this: a prospective purchaser fills out a form. This form asks relatively simple questions, such "have you been convicted of a crime," or "do you currently suffer from mental illness." Notice the first problem. While it is relatively simple to ascertain the truth regarding criminal record, mental illness can go undetected and there may be no record. If the dealer is in a Point-of-Contact (POC) state, the dealer will then contact the POC, an automated system that accesses the NICS, which is linked to a number of federal information systems (criminal records, basic identifications). These records are federal only. They do not contain records held by the state, and some states do not run background checks on their own records. I would recommend that all states run additional background checks on the state level in addition to the federal background check.
Intermediate and Long-Term Solutions
3. Increase funding, at all levels, for mental health care. As a particular few of my friends will tell you, the brain is perhaps among the least-understood organs. From what I gather, care for mental illness barely reaches parity with physical illness. I am hoping that some of my more medically-inclined friends can expand on this point, but I don't think I am far off in recommending better funding for, access to, and education about mental illness and mental health care.
4. Better parenting. This is probably going to sound really soft. The origin of the Tucson tragedy, as with many tragedies, is hate. Loughner shot Giffords because, among other things, he hated the government. Shelley Shannon killed George Tiller because Shannon hated abortion, Sirhan shot RFK because Sirhan hated Israel (and Kennedy's support for that state), James Earl Ray killed King because Ray hated black people. Like it or not, hate is the primary motivator for people to take a gun to other people. We need to do a better job teaching that it's not ok to hate. Look at the bullying incidents of the past few years; those kids were not taught that it is not ok to hate. In some cases, they were taught it was OK to hate. Until people are able to know the difference between disagreement, dislike, and hate, then there will be more killings.
What else can we do to avoid future Tucsons?
3 comments:
I agree, outlaw the damn things! Of course, you know me, I would outlaw the whole right wing. Not very 1st amendment of me.
But seriously, how bad will things have to get before we stop allowing anti-statists, hate groups and gun fanatics to use the Constitution to justify things that are inimical to the interest of the common good?
I do think that stricter laws and checks are an important part of the solution; what astonishes me is that such laws are not yet in place! And it seems likely that, even after this horrible tragedy, the right wing will somehow turn all this around to argue for the need of still FEWER regulations. Maybe Palin will come out and argue that the poor 9 year old wouldn't have died if she had her own gun!
The events in Arizona are yet another sign that political culture in America is fast sailing into the dangerous waters of right wing radicalism and anti-statist extremism. This trend is being legitimized by a misinterpretation of the Constitutional rights that were intended to protect America, not to legitimize its destruction!
To conclude as I usually conclude, the answer lies in civic education, media reform, and frankly, much stricter federal regulations. As Paul said, better parenting is important. Well, I think its time for the Federal government to step up and do some national parenting.If mom or dad sees two kids smacking the heck out of each other with sticks, they take the sticks away, even if the kid cries about how unfair it is, right?
To be clear, I am not taking about censorship, or anti-sedition laws, or anything like that. But the government's job in a democracy is to protect the well being of the nation. This includes making sure that Americans receive a good civic education, that they understand and respect the necessity of laws, and that they are sufficiently prepared to make intelligent and thoughtful political decisions. It also means putting your foot down when things get out of hand.
OF course, the other half of this is anti-corruption regulation, such as anti-lobby laws, honesty of information laws, and publicly financed, equitable elections. As long as the government represents private interests, the public will continue to have a reason to distrust it, and this anti-statist rhetoric will continue to find eager listeners.
I agree we need more funding diverted to mental health, particularly by the state, and the military in particular. Fortunately, there are a lot of great programs available for many people out there. I won't begin to diagnose what mental illness our lone gunman had, but had he been recognized and referred to treatment, there's a good things may have ended differently. Unfortunately, this tragedy, much like many others in recent history, is largely a story of failing to recognize the warning signs of a dangerous individual and taking them seriously.
At the same time, I'm optimistic about mental health in this country in general, as mental disorders become progressively less stigmatized over the last few decades and the dangers of poor recognition become more prominent in our national discussion.
This is unrelated to my expertise, but I personally favor stronger gun control laws in general. Although I could understand exception made for violent neighborhoods, it is well established that families who have guns at home are at higher risk. One such study revealed that, for every time a gun in the home was used in a self-defense or legally justifiable shooting, there were four unintentional shootings, seven criminal assaults or homicides, and 11 attempted or completed suicides (Kellermann et al, 1998; referenced from http://library.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNSTAT.html). Unfortunately, there are far too many ways to get around the flimsy laws we have restricting gun ownership.
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