"I'll give you my gun when you pry (or take) it from my cold, dead hands."
If there is an anthem for the gun lobby, undoubtedly, that is it. While many attribute the origin of the meme to Charlton Heston, he really just became the most persuasive, not to mention, most well-known vessel for what has become the quintessential message of the movement. The quote is a variation of a slogan mentioned in a 1976 report from the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency: "I Will Give Up My Gun When They Peel My Cold Dead Fingers From Around It.”
The original version was not Heston’s; nor was it proffered by the NRA, whose ad campaigns made it famous. A citizen’s group, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, based in Bellevue, Washington, devised the slogan, along with the also popular slice of gun mythology, "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Together, these two battle cries serve to keep the most avid of gun rights supporters perpetually energized.
About 10 days ago, Charlotte and Harriet Childress penned an Opinion piece for the Washington Post linking mass shootings in the
Needless to say, anyone putting forth such a premise is likely to face some pretty serious scrutiny, and more than a few ad hominem attacks. This was certainly the case with Charlotte and Harriet. Of course the classic and ready point of reference for critics of their argument is, “What about all the gun-related homicides that are not mass shootings?” First off, it is important to say, point well taken! However, having conceded the noted exceptions, what about the rule, to which they speak?
As the NRA, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the collective gun lobby make clear on a daily basis, a significant segment of the American populace loves its guns. Judging by the ads one sees on TV, and by the Childress’ Washington Post Opinion, a key demographic of that segment is white men.
In
But, let’s not be obtuse, nor feign oblivion to the preeminently compelling fact of the matter, which is, the vast majority of perpetrators of mass shootings in
In their Washington Post article, the Childress sisters pose the inconvenient counter fact; “Imagine if African American men and boys were committing mass shootings month after month, year after year.”
Now you might argue, correctly I would add, that the majority of shooters in
Most of the victims of these horrendous acts have been white. To take the what if narrative from above a step further, imagine if black men and boys were killing whites in a steady stream of mass shootings. I am not sure we would get to year after year before the subject garnered more serious and intense scrutiny.
As the NRA has set out to establish an agenda to defeat “any” new gun laws, its focus has been placed largely on mental health issues. This tact seems designed to deflate, if not flat out disparage any efforts to enact new legislation, no matter how logical, or well-intended they may be.
So why single-out white men? Well for one thing, as the Opinion notes: “Women and girls with mental health issues are not picking up semi-automatic weapons and shooting schoolchildren. Immigrants with mental health issues are not committing mass shootings in malls and movie theaters. Latinos with mental health issues are not continually killing groups of strangers.” And just to be clear, neither Native Americans, nor African Americans have a history of committing multiple mass shootings either.
Childress and Childress submit if life were equitable, white male gun-rights advocates would be forced to address a series of serious questions about their credibility and objectivity, including:
·
What facets of white
male culture create so many mass shootings?
·
Why are so many white
men and boys producing and entertaining themselves with violent video games and
other media?
·
Why do white men buy,
sell, and manufacture guns for profit, attend gun shows, and demonstrate for
unrestricted gun access disproportionately than people of other ethnicities or
races?
·
Why are white male
congressmen leading the fight against gun control?
The sisters suggest that if we ask the right questions, we will get the
right answers. It is their belief that
the answers to the above questions will encourage white men to examine their
role in their own culture and to help other white men and boys become healthier
and less violent.
All this is high-minded, sounds
good, and may even be the right course of action to take. Alas, right questions notwithstanding, I am
unconvinced that we as a society are anywhere near stemming the tide of gun violence
in general or mass shootings in particular.
What we have, in my opinion, is a failure to adequately grasp the
essential isness of one of America
I’m done; holla back!
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