The One Thing That Is Missing From The Gun Conversation
Or, Why We Can't Ignore The Valid Fears Of Targeted Groups
Another day, another mass shooting. I am not even going to try an recount all of them. I apologize for my callousness and insensitivity, but it is too much. There is no breathing between tragedies, it is just one after the other, and that is ignoring the everyday gun violence people like me are privileged not to experience.
People are fed up with inaction and false promises. We are fed up with the prayers and the condemnation of all the “evils” of society. We are fed up because nothing seems to be working. Steps to compromise seem to be climbing a staircase to nowhere.
The argument is pro-gun versus no guns, with the pro-gun side depicted as AR-15-loving loons who care more about having a cool toy than the safety of our children, and the anti-gun side depicted as indoctrinated stooges who fail to see the constant threat (and need) for vigilant personal defense.
I am not a gun owner, and I support legislation that restricts access to firearms and works to reduce the number of guns already on the streets (legal or otherwise). I am also Jewish, and well aware of the fear many of us feel in a country where Antisemitic hate crimes have been on the rise.
Whenever such a crime is reported, there are always Jews who make the case for armed protection. There are even those who promote classes that teach firearm defense techniques. The adage that Jews should not be victims is shared widely.
I am speaking about Jews, because this is what I know, but Jews are not the only ones who feel unsafe. With many of the mass shootings committed by men with hateful beliefs who target marginalized groups, it is no wonder that there are voices within each community who say arming ourselves is the only way.
I don’t think this is the way, and I think combatting hate crimes should be pro-active not reactive, but that doesn’t mean I, and especially anyone who is not a member of a targeted group, should dismiss the fears that make the idea of owning a gun so appealing.
This is not something that will be resolved by my writing. This will take open dialogue and the willingness of those who seek the strictest form of gun control (a total gun ban) to listen to those who fear they can not go out of their homes because they might be killed because they are Asian, or Black, or Trans, or Jewish, or Muslim, or any number of identities deemed unworthy of life by White Supremacists.
I ask that these fears are acknowledged and not placated with promises of how everything will be fine once all the guns are gone.
We need to address the guns AND we need to address the ideologies that lead some to commit these atrocities.
I hope we find an answer. We can’t wait anymore.