Enough, Already

The number of mass shootings in the United States in the first, not even two months of 2023, is around 72, as I am writing this. Apparently, there have been four more since the shooting at Michigan State University on Monday. And it’s only Thursday.

One freshman at MSU, Emma Grace Riddle, survived a school shooting at Oxford High School in 2021, and another freshman, Jennifer Mancini, had attended Oxford, although she had transferred to a different school not long before two of her friends at Oxford were killed in the shooting. And at least one other Oxford student was at MSU during the Monday attack. MSU senior Jackie Matthews was locked down at her intermediate school in Sandy Hook, when the massacre at the nearby elementary school occurred in 2002. I think that one of the saddest statements in that article is that Riddle’s father believes that his daughter is equipped to handle the trauma that she faces–because she’s been through it already.

Isn’t one school shooting per student more than enough? Much less having to live through two. It brings to mind one of the most brilliant headlines from The Onion, “‘No Way to Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens” According to NPR, as of May, 2022, The Onion republished this article 21 times since 2014. And it could have been more, clearly. (BTW, that’s only my second favorite Onion article–this one, from right after 9/11, is the best.)

After most large mass shootings, there are calls to finally do something about gun violence, but it never goes anywhere seriously. I wrote about this here back in 2016, after the Pulse massacre, and not much has changed (And I wrote this after Sandy Hook). Back in June, after the Uvalde school shooting, President Biden signed a bipartisan gun bill that made some improvements, but fell short of making a real difference. And the Supreme Court, of course, is no help, striking down reasonable gun restrictions (although some states, like New York, are still trying.)

Remarkably, as people–not only children–are getting shot to death on a regular basis, Republican lawmakers are doubling down on their twisted support of unfettered gun rights. One moron, Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia, has been handing out lapel pins shaped like assault rifles to fellow GOP lawmakers. It’s clear from the article that Clyde, and his fellow gun worshippers, are more interested in trying to “own the libs,” and not, you know, do their job of trying to solve a problem of people getting killed by guns–particularly the same assault rifles that these idiots proudly wear on their chests–and love to brandish in TV ads to show how tough they are.

I’d like to propose that Democratic lawmakers start wearing pins with pictures of victims of gun violence. I think that it would be an effective countermove to the press that the assault rifle pins is getting, so if any of my readers have the ear of someone that could make this happen, please pass it along.

Our song today is Warren Zevon’s “Lawyers, Guns and Money,” from his classic album Excitable Boy. As a lawyer, I like to say that with this song, two out of three ain’t bad, although I know, there are some people out there who have issues with lawyers. And even some who don’t like money. The song really isn’t about our topic–it’s actually a story about someone who finds himself in trouble in Havana, is hiding in Honduras, and is seeking help, in the form of the titular trio. But it’s a great song, by a great artist, who has been nominated for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and you should vote for him. The Rock Hall is a very flawed institution. I mean, it has Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Journey, Duran Duran, Judas Priest, and Depeche Mode, but not King Crimson, Richard Thompson, or Los Lobos, to name a few. But that shouldn’t stop you from trying to get the good ones in. (BTW, my votes this year went to Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, The White Stripes, The Spinners and Zevon.)