When tragedy strikes, our immediate reaction is one of shock and horror. In its aftermath, frustration and anger, and the desire to make sure nothing like it happens again.
It should come as no surprise then that in the wake of the El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, shootings, which left 31 dead and dozens more injured, a hurt nation is demanding restitution and action. Tragedy inspires change. But inspiration won’t be enough to make change useful or lasting.
Conservative CNN host S.E. Cupp seems to disagree. This week, she announced she had left the National Rifle Association and its talking points because “being right no longer felt righteous.”
“We must do something about guns,” she said, advocating for universal background checks, strict limitations on ammunition and certain kinds of firearms, and red flag laws.
“I am so sick and tired of participating in this predictable cycle of politics, where a mass shooting happens, the Left calls for new gun laws ― some meaningful, some unproductive ― the Right yells ‘slippery slope’ and hides behind the Constitution,” she said.
“Nothing happens, nothing changes. And with the next mass shooting, we do it all over again.
“I know, I will be accused of letting my emotions get in the way of facts here. I’ve made that accusation before,” Cupp said. “But this is an emotional issue. How could it not be? In fact, it should be more emotional … Let’s start with emotion. There’s a lot we can accomplish if we start as humans, not NRA lobbyists or gun control lobbyists.”
Cupp is right about one thing: The political cycle that follows tragedy is predictable and unproductive. Both Republicans and Democrats walk into the arena armed with the talking points and statistics they’ve used dozens of times before, but no real solution is reached. Nothing ever changes.
But perhaps this lack of change is in part due to reasoning like Cupp’s. It’s not enough to act just because we can, or even because we feel we should. It’s too complicated an issue for any knee-jerk solution to serve as anything more than a Band-Aid — a temporary fix that lasts only until the next tragedy strikes, if it even works well enough for that. This is why a large part of the country rejects the demand for an assault weapons ban. Blanket bans and confiscation of 8 to 15 million of the most popular sport rifles in the U.S. is simply unreasonable. But the loudest voices in the gun control lobby dismiss well-founded, constitutional concerns because, well, we must do something!
Facts matter. Context is important. Both must inform our conversation if a lasting solution is to be reached. And we do need one: Both the El Paso and Dayton shooters bought their firearms legally. Both exhibited red flag warning signs before the attacks. Both were socially isolated young men.
What is it about our culture that produces these kinds of killers, and why do our laws fail to identify them? How should our rights to due process and right to bear arms inform the way we think about this subject? These are the questions worth asking, but we’ll never find the answers if we allow passion to rule the conversation. Instead, there will be more anger, more frustration, and more violence.
The emotions that follow tragedy are normal — even good! — and we need them to inspire change. But reason must dictate the process.
