“What difference, at this point, does it make?” – Sect’y of State, Hilary Clinton, in 2012 at Congressional hearings investigating the killing of four US diplomatic personnel in Benghazi, Libya.
The Washington Post reports that, as of Tuesday, December 2, 2015, there had been 353 mass shootings in the US this year. The next day, two more occurred, in Savannah, GA, and San Bernardino, CA. Each time the violence erupts, officials, journalists, and the general public are all keen to find out what “box” it falls in: workplace violence, terrorism, lone wolf psycho, gang warfare, etc.
But I’m with Hilary; once the victims are dead, “What difference does it make?” The response is, and should be the same. First responders secure the location, protect the living, triage the wounded, and deal with the grief of family members and friends of the dead. Investigators gather evidence, determine motive, and go after the perpetrators and their associates (if any).
I am saddened as much by our collective reactions as I am by the continuing loss of life. Our attitude and response is more and more colored by tribal political attitudes. We need to get past those emotions, and recognize the underlying common thread: easier and easier access to guns allows more and more young men (and disgruntled older men) an opportunity to act on their native impulse to solve self-perceived problems by killing others.
At some point, we have to stop calling each other names, stop demonizing those who don’t think and feel as we do, and collectively ask, “Is this the country we want to live in? And if not, what can we do about it?” Rather than, “How can we use this event to further our tribe’s interest in seeking and aggrandizing power for out group?”
I want to know: when are we going to actually follow the directive in the Second Amendment, and REGULATE THE MILITIA? Meaning, the amendment provides the reason why Americans’ “right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed”. “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State” is the way the amendment starts. Right there, twelve words which provide the legal route into managing gun possession and use.