At the end of the service, there was an awkward silence as the students waited for someone to dismiss them. At that point, a chatty toddler blurted out, "Now what?"
The question elicited a number of giggles from the gathering but also struck me as prophetic for what was happening across the country that day. The month since the Parkland massacre that killed 17 high school students and staff has seen a level of energy, passion and activism on the issue of gun violence unrivaled after any other mass shooting. It's also been met with a fierce backlash by the NRA and its supporters who are determined to see the outrage over our latest national tragedy fizzle without any meaningful change, as was the case after Columbine, Sandy Hook, and so many others.
The question that hovers over the raging national debate on this issue is indeed, "Now what?" Will we see a repeat of what happened after 20 first-graders were massacred at Sandy Hook, where a few weeks of outrage failed to yield the change we wanted and needed as most Americans retreated into their bubbles of self-interest, while the fringe guns-for-everyone crowd remained mobilized and engaged in maintaining the status quo, or worse. I've thought about the children of Sandy Hook and their families many days since the tragedy, and continue to be haunted by those young lives needlessly lost, but I never did enough to convert those thoughts into ACTION. Now, after another preventable school massacre, we all have a chance to follow the example of the millions of high school students who have stood up since Parkland and shouted "Enough!" to a culture that values guns over life.
Here's where I suggest we start:
Turn anger into action
It sounds simple, but this has been the missing ingredient after so many mass shootings that we mistakenly thought would be the "turning point." While there has been progress in California and other states in enacting sensible gun laws since Sandy Hook, the national climate has remained unchanged, and many states have actually loosened regulations.
How does such senseless bloodshed, and the accompanying outrage by so many Americans in the immediate aftermath, lead to such inaction, or worse, NRA victories? The answer is really quite simple: The NRA keeps its fringe wing of All Guns, All the Time, mobilized, while the majority of Americans simply move on.
That can't happen this time. The students in Florida have already scored a major victory by forcing the Florida Legislature to enact some common-sense laws, which would have been unthinkable a couple months ago in the "Gunshine State." While they don't go nearly far enough, they are an important start. We need to follow their example and write letters to our elected leaders, call them on the phone, and march for change. The gun lobby is waiting for us all to return to business as usual when the dust clears; we must not allow that dust to clear until the NRA loses its grip on our political system.
Start in your own community
It's easy to consume ourselves with the big-picture battles in Washington, D.C., and topics like renewing the national assault weapons ban. While we shouldn't lose sight of that as an ultimate goal, this battle will ultimately be won by starting at the grass roots level and first influencing change in our communities, counties and states. Join groups like your local chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. I have (they welcome dads too), and I've already discovered a host of simple ways to get involved in making a difference on this issue, from writing letters in support of state legislation like AB 2103 (which would mandate live-fire training in order to receive a concealed carry permit in California) to joining state Treasurer John Chiang's effort to pressure California's public pension funds to divest from companies that manufacture and sell firearms-related products that are banned in our state.
While we're fortunate that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, I've already learned that much more can and needs to be done to button them up so that they serve as a template for other states looking to enact similar reforms. No matter what our laws here, we will never be as safe as we can be as long as assault rifles are legal elsewhere and can potentially make their way here. Other things you can do is lobby your local school boards and city councils to be proactive about improving the security of our towns and schools, passing local laws to prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on dangerous weapons, and asking them to take the fight to the gun lobby. If leaders in Washington won't act, then it's up to our local leaders in our own towns to take up this fight and not shirk from the controversy that comes with standing up to those who value guns over life.
While we're fortunate that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, I've already learned that much more can and needs to be done to button them up so that they serve as a template for other states looking to enact similar reforms. No matter what our laws here, we will never be as safe as we can be as long as assault rifles are legal elsewhere and can potentially make their way here. Other things you can do is lobby your local school boards and city councils to be proactive about improving the security of our towns and schools, passing local laws to prevent dangerous people from getting their hands on dangerous weapons, and asking them to take the fight to the gun lobby. If leaders in Washington won't act, then it's up to our local leaders in our own towns to take up this fight and not shirk from the controversy that comes with standing up to those who value guns over life.
Keep working to change public opinion
I've found out first-hand how frustrating and demoralizing it can be to engage the other side on social media over the gun epidemic. The NRA has done a brilliant job of sowing lies, paranoia and misinformation with the American public (most notably, that any gun control proposal is an attempt to take away every gun from every law-abiding citizen, or that the Second Amendment means ANY gun for ANYONE). We need to educate ourselves on the facts and then work to educate those who haven't yet made up their mind. Posting thoughts on our Facebook pages is well and good, but the impact will be limited if the vast majority of our "friends" already agree with us. We need to get outside our bubbles and seek out debates on this topic on community and other forums.
Do your homework on how sensible gun laws have worked to reduce violence in other cities, states and countries, and shoot down (pun intended) the lies that we so often see from the NRA (one of its favorite topics for misinformation is the homicide crisis in Chicago and what's caused it; here's a piece from the Chicago Tribune that sets the record straight). But don't stop there. Call out members of Congress who take blood money from the NRA on their Facebook pages or Twitter accounts (my wife has started doing that); be prepared for some pretty harsh blowback, especially in red states, but if there are some independent-minded voters out there that we can sway, it's worth the grief.
Do your homework on how sensible gun laws have worked to reduce violence in other cities, states and countries, and shoot down (pun intended) the lies that we so often see from the NRA (one of its favorite topics for misinformation is the homicide crisis in Chicago and what's caused it; here's a piece from the Chicago Tribune that sets the record straight). But don't stop there. Call out members of Congress who take blood money from the NRA on their Facebook pages or Twitter accounts (my wife has started doing that); be prepared for some pretty harsh blowback, especially in red states, but if there are some independent-minded voters out there that we can sway, it's worth the grief.
Recognize that the NRA is not as powerful as they want us to believe
One of the myths that has taken told is that the NRA is some giant, unstoppable political force. The media often portray the NRA as if it's the Galactic Empire from Star Wars. It's not true at all, and the NRA is scared to death that the American people -- and the politicians who do its bidding -- are going to figure it out.
The NRA's success on this issue has been more about our failure to stay engaged and mobilized once these mass shootings fade from the news cycle. The NRA has only 5 million members nationwide, and many of them don't adhere to the fanatical views of its leadership, who act as if the Second Amendment is absolute and grants anyone any gun they so desire, conveniently ignoring the clause about a "well-regulated" militia. We are a country of 327 million people, most of whom want sensible measures to keep our people safe like truly universal background checks, age and mental health restrictions on gun ownership, waiting periods, and limits on high-capacity magazines and military-style weapons that can kill scores of people in seconds. The gun lobby's fierce backlash to the activism we've seen since Parkland (including tweeting out a photo of an AR-15 on the day of the student walkouts) is an attempt to taunt and intimidate us into thinking they can't be beat.
The NRA's radical views have become normalized the same way the KKK's radical views once became normalized, because of its ability to strike fear in the heart of those who dare oppose it, and the unwillingness of political leaders to confront its lies. Once the politicians figure out that we don't fear the NRA's wrath, they will start to lose their fear about standing up to its frightening agenda. And once the politicians figure out that they have more to fear from our wrath than the NRA's, the organization's power will crumble.
The NRA's success on this issue has been more about our failure to stay engaged and mobilized once these mass shootings fade from the news cycle. The NRA has only 5 million members nationwide, and many of them don't adhere to the fanatical views of its leadership, who act as if the Second Amendment is absolute and grants anyone any gun they so desire, conveniently ignoring the clause about a "well-regulated" militia. We are a country of 327 million people, most of whom want sensible measures to keep our people safe like truly universal background checks, age and mental health restrictions on gun ownership, waiting periods, and limits on high-capacity magazines and military-style weapons that can kill scores of people in seconds. The gun lobby's fierce backlash to the activism we've seen since Parkland (including tweeting out a photo of an AR-15 on the day of the student walkouts) is an attempt to taunt and intimidate us into thinking they can't be beat.
The NRA's radical views have become normalized the same way the KKK's radical views once became normalized, because of its ability to strike fear in the heart of those who dare oppose it, and the unwillingness of political leaders to confront its lies. Once the politicians figure out that we don't fear the NRA's wrath, they will start to lose their fear about standing up to its frightening agenda. And once the politicians figure out that they have more to fear from our wrath than the NRA's, the organization's power will crumble.
Make your dollars count
Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to simply give what you can monetarily to make your voice heard on this issue, or make companies that profit from the NRA's agenda pay a price in the form of your business. Join me in donating as little as $10 a month to a group like Everytown for Gun Safety. Deny your business to companies that do business with the NRA or gun manufacturers or retailers that act irresponsibly. Check the holdings of mutual funds in your 401(k) account and make sure they don't invest in companies like Sturm Ruger or American Outdoor brands that make semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15, which has become the weapon of choice in these massacres. Find out which mutual fund companies have large holdings in these companies, and pressure them to divest. You can research this by using the Baron's stock tool.
If every person in the country who cares about this issue would spend just 5 or 10 minutes a week doing something simple to make a difference (donating money, writing a letter, or just speaking out in a public forum), we can turn the tide at long last and, most importantly, save lives.
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