Gun violence is not inevitable

This piece was originally published in the March 23, 2021 edition of CAP Action’s newsletter, the Progress Report. Subscribe to the Progress Report here.

“It seems to me that we have our priorities entirely backwards when we make it easier to buy a gun than we do to cast a ballot.”

— Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) speaking today at a Senate hearing on gun violence prevention just hours after a gunman killed ten people at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado

This shouldn’t be controversial.

The American people know what needs to be done to put an end to preventable gun violence.

Share this graphic on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to get the facts out:

IN THE NEWS

• [Content warning: Gun violence] Less than a week after a string of armed attacks at Atlanta-area spas left eight people dead and sent shockwaves throughout the AAPI community, America is once again grappling with the aftermath of yet another horrific act of gun violence. Last night, a gunman took the lives of ten people in a Boulder, Colorado supermarket.
• Sandy Hook. El Paso. Parkland. Pittsburgh. Atlanta. Boulder. We’ve been through this national grieving and reckoning process far too many times to count. That doesn’t make it any easier. Each of the victims of last night’s shooting was a human being with hobbies, likes and dislikes, and years of life left to live. Onlookers said that some of the victims were waiting in line to get their coronavirus vaccines. Now, ten families and communities are grieving the loss of a loved one. While we don’t yet know much about every victim of last night’s massacre, you can read what is known here.
• What happened in Boulder may be one of the most high-profile acts of gun violence since the start of the pandemic. But experts are pointing out that just because we haven’t been hearing as much about gun violence over the past year doesn’t mean it hasn’t been happening. In the past seven days, there have been seven mass shootings. Not just seven shootings — seven mass shootings, which per CNN is defined as a shooting resulting in four or more deaths and injuries (not counting the shooter). And we know that a disproportionate burden of the gun violence that doesn’t make headlines falls on communities of color.
• We all agree that the U.S. has a gun violence problem. Enough is enough. Enough has been enough for years. Yet every time this happens, Congress, stymied by Republican opposition to addressing this crisis in any meaningful way, has failed to deliver the policy change that is desperately needed. Why should we expect them to now? It’s a fair question. Just in the past few weeks, the House has passed multiple bipartisan bills backed by gun violence prevention experts that could save lives and make huge progress in curbing gun violence. And with a Senate, a House, and a president who have signaled they understand the seriousness of this crisis, there’s hope.
• The Senate needs to do everything in their power to end this crisis that’s been left unaddressed for far too long. That’s not to say this will be easy. But too much is at stake to let people like Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell get in the way of sensible gun violence prevention measures that are supported by 78% of Americans. Michelle Obama put it perfectly in a statement today calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act: “We cannot continue to allow the will of the majority of Americans to be overshadowed by an oppositional few fixated on maintaining power.”

WHAT WE’RE READING

• A National Plan To End Gun Violence by Max Markham (Data for Progress)
• The mass shooting in Colorado is likely only one of scores that have occurred during your life by Philip Bump (Washington Post)
• How to File Your State and Federal Taxes for Free in 2021 by Kristen Doerer, Justin Elliott, and Karim Doumar (ProPublica)