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Arming the Next Generation … With Information

Hearts breaking, we watch Texas students join the ranks of those from Florida, trying to rise from the bloody plateau of school shootings. How can we adults stand with and for these young leaders? One step is to share wisdoms gleaned from decades of other social justice work.

1. Choose your words.

The term “gun control” creates resistance among those who are wedded to weapons, but also those who see “control” as an inherent affront to “freedom.” The actual goal is safety, the ultimate freedom. So let’s be clear that what we are fighting for is “common-sense public safety legislation.” We can also accurately call it a “child safety plan,” since more than 10,000 American citizens under age 21 are injured or killed every year by guns.

Key is to stop and think about our choice of words. When Newt Gingrich labeled his party the champions of “family values” (even though they blocked child care funding, family leave legislation, and access to affordable birth control), it put Democrats on the defensive for decades – who can be against family? It is important to own the narrative now. Who can be against child protection and public safety?

2. Hone any argument to no more than three points.

Our most important points to state over and over:

A. We’ve seen what works in other countries to eliminate mass shootings and reduce gun deaths overall. A truly strong country learns from others.

B. Every right spelled out in the constitution has limits and context; the second amendment is no different. For the sake of public safety, one cannot falsely yell “FIRE” in a crowded theater. Citizens do not have the “freedom” to take out a full-page ad falsely stating that someone is a murderer. We don’t call those rulings about the first amendment “speech control,” just as we might stop using the term “gun control.” While we permit people to drive cars, we require training, licenses, insurance and other accountability. Public safety measures regarding guns pose no conflict with the constitution or with our overall rights.

C. Most of the causes and solutions to school shootings proposed by gun advocates are simply red herrings that benefit a thriving weapons industry. Other countries have citizens with mental health issues, violent video games, bullies, and schools without security guards. The only significant difference between safer countries and ours is they limit access to guns. We will not become a safer country until we dramatically reduce access to guns - period. Tragically, gun access is promoted in the U.S. by a weapons industry with $13 billion of annual revenue at stake. This fight will be so difficult, then, because it is being waged against our citizens by a giant the likes of cigarette manufacturers. We all saw how that industry also successfully fought restrictions for decades, even after research proved cigarettes (designed to be addictive) were killing tens of thousands of citizens annually. What a sad track record of putting profits before the health, safety -- and in this case even the survival -- of our children.

3. Define success, to turn the overwhelming into the possible.

Let’s name exactly what we demand, nothing short of what has worked to ensure safety in other countries: a federal ban on all military style weapons; a separate permit for the acquisition of every firearm, with at least a 28-day waiting period for each, preceded by extensive training; firearms sales conducted only through licensed dealers; raising the age to 21 for purchasing any gun; and gun buybacks. We must pledge to defeat every politician of either party who will not sign on to these core measures for child protection and public safety.

Youth around the country, we mourn that schools, churches and concerts have been allowed to become hunting grounds. Together we must make use of our strongest weapons: our voice and our vote.

chasing social justice

 

This blog builds on concepts I have developed over 30 years working to advance social justice.  My aim here is to address areas where our country seems stuck (or is taking a few steps backward), offering ideas and frameworks useful to current and future activists and advocates.

 

Here you will find my own writings; posts I help colleagues to write; and compositions by others that bridge the divide in our polarized culture -- in service of a more compassionate, forward-thinking and "level" society. 

 

Please share your reactions, questions and ideas, either with an individual email to me (CONTACT button above) or by posting in the COMMENTS SECTION AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE.

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