Nation unlikely to change gun course – Virginia pilot

Since the horrific murder of Sandy Hook Elementary School a decade ago, there have been hundreds of more mass shootings in the United States, a surge in gun deaths in general, and a surge in political extremism that glorifies guns. There has been an alarming turn.

I agree with the position stated by the Virginian Pilots & Daily Press editorial board in their November 29th editorial, “The future we choose.” However, the solutions presented may never be available in today’s climate and culture.

The editorial board said, “If we want to stop gun violence, we have to do it.” After highlighting the recent shootings at Chesapeake Walmart and the University of Virginia, the Commission wrote: It’s a choice we make every day. ”

Finally, the Board said, “This is the United States of America, and it will use its power and influence at the ballot box to become the country the people want it to be.”

Of course, but does the editorial board really think they can turn the tide on gun violence at a time when violent political rhetoric and gun violence are on the rise in America? Yes , substantive change comes with cultural change, but we are as silent at the ballot box as we are with the general public.

Take a look at the last election and see how many voters actually turned up and the breakdown of the red and blue states. Everyday our movies and video games highlight the twisted and murderous fantasies of using guns: the American civilian now owns more than a third of the world’s guns. , which is the largest domestic market for firearms.

Gun violence affects far more people than its victims and perpetrators. We talk about guns, but it almost never happens. Like protesting the Vietnam War. Once the movement dissipated and the glue that held it together was gone, it became unpopular and politically unviable.

Unfortunately, until we face another mass shooting, the same thing happens with gun control. The problem of gun violence in America is serious, but it could get worse. In the recently decided Bruen case, the conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court seized the opportunity to scrap the precedent entirely rather than tweaking it. Justice Clarence Thomas held that all modern laws restricting firearms were unconstitutional because there was no historical evidence of gun laws relating to 1791 or 1868 (the years in which the Second and Fourteenth Amendments were ratified, respectively). I reasoned that it could be judged. Today he made no distinction between the lethal effectiveness of an AR-15 rifle and his 18th-century musket.

In another Texas ruling, a judge overruled a ban on gun ownership by domestic abusers. His reasoning stems from the unfortunate fact that spousal abuse was not a crime in his 1700s.

Other consequences Bruen likely caused include lawsuits to end background checks. This is because there was no national computerized database of criminal records when America was founded.

The plague of gun violence in America today is the result of certain interpretations of the Second Amendment, not common sense. These incidents may be disturbing, but they are a dream come true for the National Rifle Association and militants who put the rights of gun owners above all other rights of individuals, especially when it comes to public safety. It is.

America is indeed “One Nation Under Guns”. While we appreciate the pain and immeasurable loss of life caused by recent mass shootings, why is it that Virginia and the country have not effectively enacted gun control laws? The answer, of course, is the ballot box, Aren’t you chasing an “impossible dream”? How many more genocides will voters have to face before they come to their senses and do more?

Unfortunately I don’t think it’s in my life.

Tazewell Hubbard Former Assistant City Attorney, Federal Attorney and Substitute Judge for the City of Norfolk.