Our View: Reduce gun violence to make U.S. safer

So what’s it going to take for serious, bipartisan and real action on reducing gun violence in America, a nation that has more guns than people?

Another assassination attempt? More school shootings? An attempted coup?

Our nation, a tinderbox of division, avoided a tragedy Saturday when a 20-year-old Pennsylvania shooter failed to assassinate former President Donald Trump during a rally in Butler, Penn. In the days ahead, there will be lots of questions about how the shooter was able to access a line-of-sight shooting position and which security agencies failed and why.

But what must not be lost in this time of national angst is the common understanding that we live in a gun culture in which violence is an answer to volatility too much of the time. As Democratic and many Republican leaders have said, it’s time to ratchet down incendiary rhetoric and unify — something current President Joe Biden and challenger Donald Trump agree on.

Biden: “We’re neighbors or friends, coworkers, citizens. Most importantly, we are fellow Americans, we must stand together … We can’t allow this violence to be normalized. I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate.”

Trump: “In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand united, and show our true character as Americans, remaining strong and determined, and not allowing evil to win.”
So what can we do, particularly in an environment in which tragic shootings of children in schools all over the country didn’t galvanize the forces of bipartisan change?

First, we must recognize there is a partisan divide fueled by the gun lobby. Republican leaders need to wake up and understand they’re being used as pawns too often. Democrats haven’t “taken away their guns,” but instead want some responsible policy offerings, such as bans on the kind of assault rifle used to attack Trump, to be enacted in a bipartisan manner.

And Democratic leaders can stop vilifying Republicans for standing up for Second Amendment rights. Rather, they can use this moment in time to sit down anew and focus on realistic strategies to reduce gun violence so we don’t have more school shootings and assassination attempts.

The time is now because gun violence isn’t getting better. In this week’s issue, reporter Skyler Baldwin highlights how there have been two dozen officer-involved shootings in the state so far this year. Why? It might be the gun culture. But it also might be that local police are more wary than ever when encountering any conflict since citizens now have the right to carry firearms any time they want.

And last year, the City Paper reported that Charleston County averaged three gun-related incidents per day during the month of November 2022 — three per day!

Gun violence is out of control. Let’s use this narrow window of opportunity to pull together as a nation and make America safer, not just greater.