American carnage

After Atlanta, after Boulder, after South Carolina, comes Indianapolis: An endless deadly drumbeat of proof that as long as angry Americans — let’s be honest, angry men — can easily get their hands on firearms and ammunition, people will be murdered in bunches. Americans can be forgiven for being exhausted. They must push through their fatigue to demand change. That change must be informed by a clear-eyed recognition that while mass murders using weapons of war garner headlines and presidential speeches, they are a symptom of our national sickness, not the disease.

The United States suffers 40,000 deaths by gun annually. Six in 10 of those are suicides. Three in 10 are homicides that involve more mundane but still life-shattering uses of weapons, typically handguns. Most of the remaining deaths are accidents. Mass shootings, horrifyingly frequent as they are, barely register in totals.

For each gun death of every kind, shockwaves of pain ripple through families and communities. For each injury, too: There are more than 100,000 of those annually.

Demanding universal background checks is necessary; it is insufficient. Confronting rampant interstate gun trafficking, which allows illegal weapons to flood into cities, is necessary; it is insufficient. Giving states and cops more tools to seize guns from unstable people is necessary; it is insufficient. Yanking gun manufacturers’ liability protections is necessary; it is insufficient. Confronting and tending to the roots of gun violence is necessary; it is insufficient. Banning assault rifles and high-capacity magazines is necessary; it is insufficient.

Friday, President Biden ordered the U.S. flag flown at half-mast again, the third time he’s done so since taking office. If Congress doesn’t act and act forcefully, he may as well just leave the flag down.