The Violence Epidemic

I grew up in the country, where guns were just another tool for farm life. Sometimes it was necessary to remove varmints, protect livestock, and harvest the occasional rabbit or pheasant.

Guns fulfilled an essential role in American frontier life, used for protection and as tools to dominate and conquer a continent. America’s Wild West period became the stuff of legends as have the minuteman, sheriffs, cops, and organized crime figures. Gangsters and lawmen are lionized by popular culture and violence has become commonplace in our media. Our society has fostered an American persona where guns play a mythologized role.

Fast forward through the centuries to the present where guns play an outsized role in our society. In 2008, the Heller vs Washington DC opinion held that gun restrictions were unconstitutional because the original intent of the 2^nd Amendment guaranteed an individual’s right to bear arms independent of service in a state militia. The ambiguous phrasing in the amendment directly led to an exponential rise in gun ownership, as well as the ever-increasing epidemic of gun violence.

Guns are now one of the leading causes of death for children. Allowing the free circulation of weapons based on military arms has only increased the death tolls and fed the hysterical reactions to the implementation of common-sense gun laws. The violence epidemic in the US is an anomaly in the free world, yet we allow this viciousness to exist. A minority of our citizens, by utilizing their disproportionate representation in Congress, perpetuate the tragedy.

Our urban leaders attempting to slow gun violence in their population centers are overwhelmed by the abundance of guns trafficked on black markets. Despite pleas by police chiefs in the thick of the struggle, outlying states allow the traffic to flow unchecked. This is not only a homegrown problem. This scourge has reached into foreign markets as well. Mexico’s drug cartels sometimes outgun the police due to American trafficking of weapons. Haiti is currently ruled by armed gangs supplied by American black markets. Canadian cities also suffer from imported guns fueling their crime rates.

Unfortunately, the gun lobby and some who misread the 2nd Amendment enthusiasts promote the fiction that “guns save lives” and promise “a good guy with a gun” as solutions. There are serious efforts to promote the arming of teachers within our schools. The US currently has more guns than we have citizens.

Many who identify with a prominent political party identify and gain from the association by receiving money and support in elections, while those in public life seeking remediation are targeted by the gun lobby. Promoting indiscriminate gun ownership without appreciating the dangers masquerades as promoting freedom, all the while having the opposite effect on the vulnerable. We deserve the freedom not to be confronted by an armed psychopath.

A majority Democratic legislature was elected to the Virginia General Assembly in 2020. Before they were seated, a hysteria for gun sanctuaries swept the rural areas of the state and local governments passed statutes lacking basis in law but supporting gun ownership.

We have seen multiple outbursts of gun violence at Virginia universities as well as violence in our elementary schools. These issues affect our entire population. Many people elected to represent our best interests have repeatedly chosen to pursue hot button cultural issues, guaranteed to fire up their base. In all instances related to the gun epidemic, they have chosen to accept more violence and more harm to our society. Republican Party members from our state Delegates and Senators have come down on the side of allowing more violence to be perpetrated on Virginians. Recently our Republican governor vetoed new measures to prevent violence.

Here in Virginia, we have seen some progress by enacting common sense laws such as limiting handguns purchases to one a month. Some strengthened background checks are in place, gun owners must notify law enforcement of stolen weapons, and red flag laws offer some protection in the case of domestic abuse.

It is essential to promote rational thought regarding the gun violence epidemic, both on the state and federal level. Real progress will probably only be realized when the minorities who unthinkingly promote indiscriminate gun ownership are outvoted by the majorities who want to end this scourge.

Steve Foreman
Warren County, VA

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