Opinion: America Has A Gun Violence Problem, And Fighting Amongst Ourselves Gets Us Nowhere

In the decade since I first asked one of my reporters to cover America’s Gun Violence Epidemic, I can say with zero hesitation and immense frustration that The People have seen no progress.

If anything, the two “Camps” on gun violence causality have dug in their heels even harder, and the resultant intransigence has helped a grand total of nobody.

“It’s the guns!,” screams Camp 1.

“It’s a mental health issue!,” shrieks Camp 2.

I want to throttle both of you.

Because while y’all are trying to force yet another moral binary. I spent much of Saturday evening speaking with a Centers For Disease Control employee (Let’s call them ‘Riley,’) whose whole world has been turned upside down by the shooting that took place there this month.

Riley is a parent and cannot stop racing thoughts about a gunman opening fire on a daycare (as happened at the CDC); Riley cannot sleep well; Riley cannot stop obsessing over the idea that their friends and colleagues nearly died and that a similar situation could happen again; Riley cannot return to work; Riley no longer feels safe wherever they go; Riley has PTSD and is seeking counseling. (Counseling that they can, mercifully, access and afford.)

According to CDC statistics there were 46,728 deaths from gun injuries in the US in 2023 (the most recent CDC data available). Nearly 18,000 of those were homicides, and the remaining deaths were from suicides or accidents.

The statistics do not include those numbers of victims who were shot and survived.

Firearms are the leading cause of death among American young people.

While the CDC continues to track gun-related deaths, its research was curtailed extensively by the Dickey Amendment. Passed in the mid 1990s, the Dickey Amendment was widely criticized for prohibiting gun violence research to avoid political backlash from gun rights groups, most notably the National Rifle Association. (Indeed, the Amendment’s namesake, Republican Rep. Jay Dickey, called himself “the point man for the NRA.”)

The Dickey Amendment was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton after being tucked into an appropriations bill. Notably Clinton oversaw the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, which fell by the wayside in 2004. While the ban’s overall success rate remains disputed, multiple studies indicate that Camp 1 (“Get rid of the guns!”) may be on to something, as the rate of mass shooting fatalities was statistically significantly lower while the ban was in effect than in the years previous or following, with one study finding that mass shooting fatalities occurred with 70% less frequency while the ban was in place.

After two decades of curtailed research, Congress clarified in 2018 that Dickey should not have banned research, and funding was appropriated for gun violence studies beginning in 2019.

While about 18,000 of the gun related deaths in 2023 were homicides, suicides accounted for over 27,000. As suicides account for such a high number of annual American gun deaths, the mental illness aspect of the Gun Violence Epidemic critically needs to be addressed (Nod to Camp 2, the “It’s a mental health issue!” folks).

Studies about the inaccessibility of mental health services – issues of geography, cost, insurance hurdles, insufficient training, poor follow up etc. – abound. As with many aspects of the American healthcare system, our mental health offerings could use a complete affordability and accessibility overhaul.

For its part, the National Institutes of Health acknowledges these problems, and researchers put forward the following as potential actions to close the gaps:

“To realize the vision of a public mental health system supporting delivery of a full range of evidence‐ based prevention, treatment, and recovery support services supported by robust social safety net policy, we must build a cadre of public mental health leaders. In 2022, only one US school of public health has a department focused on public mental health; additional education and training initiatives are urgently needed, and people with lived experience of mental illness must have leadership roles in efforts to build the public mental health system of the future. – from “ The Future of Public Mental Health: Challenges and Opportunities”, by Beth McGinty,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Identifying the needs is all well and good, of course, but knowledge (which we have, though it’s lacking) without action (which we don’t have) means the crisis remains – and countless innocent Americans continue to suffer.

With this month’s shooting, Riley joins the many millions who’ve been personally affected by America’s Gun Violence Epidemic, my family among them.

Two of my extended family members attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and survived the 2018 mass shooting by hiding in a closet. The texts they sent their parents that day would either break your heart or turn it hard as stone.

No one should have to live through that kind of terror. And, certainly, no one should have to die by it.

On this we all agree.

Despite this agreement, Our Fellow Americans continue to face these intolerable situations, at least in part because the two Camps refuse to come together to work for meaningful reform. Our leadership refuses to come together to work for meaningful reform.

“Ban all guns!,” isn’t helpful. The Gun Lobby is too powerful, and you’ll never get consensus on that. It won’t happen in our lifetimes.

“It’s mental illness! Get the crazies to a shrink!” isn’t helpful. Our current healthcare system is inadequate to meet the demand. Insurance Lobbies and Capitalist Healthcare are too powerful, and you’ll never get consensus on that. It won’t happen in our lifetimes.

But that doesn’t mean we get to sit around and do nothing.

Most Americans agree we should institute common sense gun reforms, which could include background checks, waiting periods, safety training, and mandatory licensure. Further actions could include legal requirements for gun storage and punishments for those whose negligence in this area results in a gunman unlawfully obtaining the guns and using them in a crime. Walking a legal line here will be challenging; there will be growing pains. But innocent lives are at risk, and perfection is the enemy of progress.

Most Americans also agree that mental health services should be more affordable and more readily available, and that protocols should be in place for persons exhibiting troubling behavior. Further actions could include mandatory procedural actions on behalf of healthcare providers and law enforcement once a person has been flagged for concerning or violent behavior, with legal repercussions if those protocols are not followed. Walking a legal line here will be challenging; there will be growing pains. But innocent lives are at risk, and perfection is the enemy of progress.

These steps won’t fully solve the problem – there’s so much more that needs to be done – but they’re a start. And we have to start somewhere.

Innocent lives are at risk, and perfection is the enemy of progress.

Note: This is an opinion article as designated by the the category placement on this website. It is not news coverage. If this disclaimer is funny to you, it isn’t aimed at you — but some of your friends and neighbors honestly have trouble telling the difference.