While we were away…

Two weeks in Italy, and…while we were away…two more mass shootings in the USA.

Indescribably tragic for the families and communities involved. Horrifying news even six time-zones away…and humiliating for an American traveler abroad because such gun violence is inexplicable — and inexcusable — to most of the citizens and media in the rest of the developed world.

Photos of the 19 dead elementary school children killed in Texas on May 25^th appeared by May 26^th atop the front page of a major Italian newspaper under the headline, “e una vergogna.” Which means, “It’s a disgrace.”

So shameful and senseless are these slayings that for several days they seemed to take the wind out of foreign media condemnation of Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine. Instead, media aimed their outrage at America.

It is well documented that a sizable majority of the American masses – from the far left, through the center, and well to the right of the political spectrum – want something significant done about gun violence. We understand that it IS about the guns, and not just about  people and their mental and emotional state, and the nexus with violent video games.    

There are 120 guns in private ownership for every 100 people in the US. No other nation comes close (war-torn Yemen has one-third that rate). Nearly 50 percent of the privately owned guns in the entire world are located in the US where less than 5 percent of the world’s population reside. The result?

During the years 1998 through 2019, the US had 101 mass shootings, nearly three-times the total for the next 17 developed countries combined (France ranked second with eight mass shootings). Clearly — as the New York Times demonstrated again last week – “more guns mean more gun violence.”

It IS about the guns.

To reduce shootings in America, we must reduce the number of guns in America. We must reduce the number of guns manufactured in and imported to the US. We must implement aggressive and highly incentivized buy-back programs to remove many of the guns already over-saturating American society. We must implement much tighter and tougher screening of those who attempt to purchase guns — new and used — and ammunition of any kind. And we must adopt very severe limitations on the sale or transfer of any and all firearms designed for rapid fire.

These and other sensible measures leave plenty of space for hunters and gun collectors and even devout Second Amendment defenders, who must be beaten over the head — metaphorically, at least — with the reminder that their rights to own and carry firearms do not supersede my grandchildren’s rights to attend safe schools. Or others’ rights to go shopping without body armor. Or others’ rights to go to their place of praise and worship without risking their lives.  Or others’ rights to go to a movie or concert without danger of becoming the next American tragedy about which the rest of the world is reading and wondering, “What’s wrong with America?”

I would have liked to have written in this space about the wonders of Florence and the Tuscan hill towns of Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano and Volterra. But it just doesn’t seem very important now.

JER