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The Weapon of Words


On this one year anniversary of the Parkland murders, please, let it not take another mass shooting for us to remember that hundreds of thousands of American families face an empty chair around their dinner table each night, mourning a child or adult lost to gun violence.

Thinking of them, devastated for them, I now recognize the folly of the term “gun control.”

The United States gun industry rakes in $13 billion annually -- and the term gun control plays right into their narrative. They have enough money and craftsmanship to frame the debate with claims such as “gun control is just the beginning of taking away all of our liberties” or “a good guy with a gun is the only answer to a bad guy with a gun.” The phrase “gun control” mobilizes those who see “control” as an inherent affront to freedom.

We’ve got to reclaim the narrative. What we are fighting for is public safety.

As part of reframing the narrative, we must hone our arguments to just a couple points, for them to take hold. First: the only significant difference between safer countries and ours is they limit access to guns. Other countries have citizens with mental health issues, violent video games, and schools without security guards. The simple truth is the U.S. won’t become a safer country until we dramatically reduce gun access.

The second point to hone in on: public safety measures regarding guns are in line with the Constitution. Every right has limits and context. While we value free speech, one cannot falsely yell “FIRE” in a crowded theater. We don’t call that “speech control.” To drive a car requires training, licenses, tests. We don’t call this “control” or loss of freedom; it's accountability – in the name of public safety.

After framing the narrative and honing our arguments, the final step in harnessing the power of our words is to name exactly what success looks like. A robust set of public safety measures begins with a federal ban on all military style weapons; a separate permit and background check for the acquisition of every firearm, no matter where it is purchased, with at least a 28-day waiting period, preceded by proven safety training; and regulating ammunition as well as weapons.

10,000 U.S. citizens are shot to death every single year (on top of the 20,000 who die annually by suicide with a gun). To disable the force field surrounding guns, we must better wield a weapon of magnitude: our words.

What we are fighting for, it’s not gun control; it’s public safety.

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For nearly two decades, Laurie Sherman served as policy advisor to Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who coalesced other mayors to advance public safety legislation. She is working on a book about lessons learned from the past three decades of social justice work in the U.S.

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. 

 

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