American carnage. That’s what former President Donald Trump once promised to stop when he took office in 2017.
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now,” he declared during his first speech after taking the oath of office, referencing “the crime and gangs and drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.”
Yet the carnage has continued — especially in the form of gun violence and mass shootings. The latest tragedy occurred last week at a high school in Georgia.
The perpetrator: a 14-year-old boy, armed with a weapon of war, terrorized his school, killing two teachers and two fellow 14-year-old students. It is now the deadliest school shooting in Georgia’s history.
Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, have simply shrugged and given up on addressing gun violence.
When asked to comment on the Georgia shooting, Vance said, “We don’t have to like the reality that we live in, but it is [the] reality that we live in. We’ve got to deal with it.” He also referred to school shootings as a “fact of life.”
Perhaps they are — but only because Republicans have continued to loosen gun restrictions and appoint activist judges who believe the Second Amendment trumps everyone else’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Some Republicans, like Vance, would prefer us to live in a security state rather than impose new restrictions on guns.
For instance, some proposals include arming teachers. But what happens when one of those teachers potentially snaps and shoots up a classroom? What happens if a student finds a way to get a hold of one of those teachers’ guns?
Thankfully, the vast majority of gun owners will never use their weapons to commit a crime or a mass shooting. But as these weapons of war have become easier to possess, it only takes one madman to cause a tragedy. In 2017, a shooter in Las Vegas killed 60 people and wounded another 413. The total injured, after the ensuing panic, came to 867. One man did this.
In Florida, we are all too aware of the effects of gun violence. Pulse, which claimed the lives of 49 LGBTQIA individuals in Orlando, and Parkland, where 17 were killed, are seared into our memory.
The carnage has continued from coast to coast and everywhere in between — from an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, to a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.
Former Gov. Rick Scott signed common-sense gun restrictions into law after the Parkland shooting, including raising the minimum age to 21 to purchase a gun and extending the waiting period to three days.
Of course, the National Rifle Association challenged the law in court, so it remains to be seen if it will be upheld.
In recent decades, the Supreme Court has steadily expanded gun rights in the U.S.
In 2008, the Supreme Court ruled — for the first time — that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to possess a firearm. In 2010, the Court extended that ruling nationwide. In 2016, the Court ruled that their previous decisions covered stun guns. In 2022, the Court ruled that the Constitution protects an individual’s right to carry a firearm outside of their home for self-defense.
This slow expansion of gun rights via the Supreme Court poses an existential threat to our safety and security. The Court’s decisions have effectively limited the ability of state and federal governments to regulate firearm ownership and use, weakening the power of gun control measures.
Over the years, conservatives have routinely railed against judicial activism — but this is exactly what judicial activism looks like.
The most basic role of any government is to protect its people. Republican-led governments are abdicating that role and leaving it up to individuals to protect themselves, while Democratic-led governments are being constrained by radical courts.
It’s no longer possible for Congress or state legislatures alone to implement common-sense and reasonable gun restrictions.
Supreme Court appointments are often not the most talked about or exciting issue to discuss. But these justices have the ability to shape our policy for decades to come. It’s not enough to simply elect politicians who care about gun safety.
We need leaders who will prioritize public safety and commit to appointing justices who will uphold the common good over ideological extremism.
