Time to end paralysis, deal with guns

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In the spring of 1994 I was pulled out of my last class before graduating from Columbia University School of Law. That afternoon I learned my 11-year old nephew had been shot and killed on a playground by another student in Butte, Montana. Jeremy Bullock was the unintended victim of what was, at the time, our nation’s youngest school yard shooting. I felt paralyzed.

Last fall on opening day of hunting season, my son shot his first deer. He was prepared. We practiced the fundamentals of fair chase and reinforced his hunter safety course. As it has been for generations of Montanans, it was a moment he and I will never forget.

Both experiences shape my views of gun policy.

After the tragedy in Santa Fe, Texas, I once again heard the concerns expressed by parents and students. And, like governors across this country, I once again ordered our flags be lowered to half-staff.

There are 22,000 suicides and 13,000 homicides involving guns each year. Literally hundreds of thousands of parents and loved ones have felt the way I felt since that day in 1994.

As a nation, we are becoming really good at lowering the flag and offering thoughts and prayers. Yet, when it comes to confronting gun safety and gun violence, we are as paralyzed a nation as I was that day as an uncle.

Americans calling for restrictions on weapons want their families to be safe.

Americans calling for protection of the Second Amendment want their families to be safe. I know because I’m a gun owner who believes in the Constitution, yet also recognizes its limits.

If we approach gun violence from the shared value of protecting our families, we can make progress.

Let’s dispense with shiny objects intended to distract from the issue. Arming teachers is absurd; period. Those licensed to carry concealed are not trained law enforcement officers, and we shouldn’t confuse the two. And mental health, while important for our nation to address, is a challenge requiring a separate set of solutions.

Let’s focus on what works. Most gun owners are law abiding, yet too often guns get into the wrong hands. That’s why the first step ought to be universal background checks and cracking down on straw purchases of guns.

The majority of Americans support comprehensive background checks. We know in the 19 states that have enacted them they have reduced gun violence and saved lives: 47% fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners, 47% fewer suicides by gun, and 53% fewer law enforcement officers shot and killed in the line of duty.

States across the country are implementing “red flag laws,” which save lives by allowing law enforcement or family members to ask a court to temporarily remove guns from those who might pose a danger to themselves or others. We also need to better protect victims of domestic violence from firearm violence.

After Parkland, the president called for a ban on bump stocks and placing age limits on who can purchase firearms; let’s hold him to his word. While we’re at it, let’s place greater limits on access to high-capacity magazines and weapons enabling those intent on terror to kill dozens in seconds.

As individuals and as a nation, we can no longer be paralyzed. We have to act.

Democrat Steve Bullock is the governor of Montana.

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