ELZA: What keeps me up at night

Published 5:00 am Friday, June 10, 2022

There have been 233 mass shootings since the beginning of this year. Most of them only get a mention on the news then we move on to other things. 

Most of the shootings are done by young men, usually white. The targets are those who are the most vulnerable. The weapons of choice are military assault weapons. In the last week, snippets of information have leapt out at me from the avalanche of images and news reports. I can’t seem to get them out of my mind.

There are enough guns in circulation right now that every human being in the country can have one. There’re enough guns in circulation right now that every man, woman and child can own one. Black, white, rich, poor, urban, rural, young, old. Remember “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart? Every time a bell rang, an angel got his wings. In the U.S., every time a baby is born, someone gets a gun.

The children killed in Uvalde were unrecognizable because their bodies were mutilated by an AR15. They had to be identified by their DNA. Their bodies were torn apart beyond recognition by their parents. The argument on TV was whether to show the pictures as a way of encouraging Congress to act.

CNN did an interview with a Texas representative who said that the AR15 was the weapon of choice for his constituents for killing foxes and kittens. He actually said kittens but I’ve pushed that image out of my mind. He must mean feral cats or little foxes. Depriving his constituents of military weapons to kill household pests is unthinkable. I keep seeing the shattered bodies of opossums, raccoons and squirrels splattered across backyards in Texas. I wish that were unthinkable.

CNN did an interview with a gun owner who turned in his AR15 after the shooting in Uvalde. He didn’t really need it. He had lots of other guns. Asked why he bought it in the first place, he said he thought it would be cool to own a gun that normally only the military could own.

MSNBC did a segment about how the gun manufacturers aim their advertising at young boys, equating gun ownership with masculinity and coolness. And now we’re right back where we started. Whenever a baby is born, someone gets a gun.

I don’t know how to stop this circle of madness. Would it help if I put an ad on Facebook saying women are not attracted to men who kill children? Or Blacks or Asians or Muslims or Baptists or Jews? Would a billboard saying guns aren’t manly or that killing people you don’t like isn’t cool help? Should we do a Hollywood blitz of cool macho actors saying own a gun, but don’t kill people with it? Just the little animals that annoy you?

I know the nationalist Christian Right doesn’t believe in Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You, but couldn’t they throw in a sermon now and then about how it’s wrong to kill people you don’t like? That’s even one of the Commandments, so it’s not a real stretch. I bring up the nationalist Christian Right in this gun conversation because their militia have become mainstream.

All the news outlets, even Fox, have been reporting that the Proud Boys have been elected to the executive board of the Republican Party of Dade County, Florida. Those folks who stashed weapons “in case they were needed” on Jan. 6’s assault on the Capitol are now running the Republican Party in Dade County. Not someone like them, them. 

An indicted person who stormed the Capitol, broke windows and ransacked the floor was elected with his cohorts. They want to bring guns to the next election for election security. Maybe they’ll stash AR15s in the closets “in case they’re needed.”

There is only one weapon more powerful than a gun of any kind – the vote. Everybody in the country can have a gun. Those who are registered can vote. If we don’t use the vote in this upcoming election, only the guns will remain.

Dr. Jane Elza, Ph.D., retired, is a resident of Valdosta.