Rising youth fury could spark action — finally

Much like the young people who gave momentum to the Civil Rights movement as Freedom Riders, much like those who questioned the government and protested the Vietnam War, now it is the youth who are finally piercing the hypocritical shield of politicians and getting attention on the epidemic of gun violence in our country.

The anguished pleas of teens who survived the Parkland, Florida mass shootings on Valentine’s Day that killed 14 classmates and three instructors are amplified on social media and gaining cleareyed support from youth across the country. They are planning marches on Washington, D.C., as well as New York City, Hartford and elsewhere on March 24. A nationwide walkout is being organized for March 14.

From this tide of outrage, a tiny glimmer could — possibly — lead to action. President Donald Trump, who for the past week has framed the massacre as a mental health problem, relented to the pressure and signaled he is willing to ban bump stock devices that enable semi-automatic machine guns to fire bullets with machine-gun rapidity.

“We must do more to protect our children,” the president said, and he is absolutely right on that. Trump on Tuesday directed Attorney General Jeff Sessions to finalize federal regulations, under review by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to ban bump stocks.

Although there is no evidence that the high school shooter in Parkland used a bump stock, in October the Las Vegas shooter was able to terrorize and kill 58 people at an outdoor concert with the aid of a bump stock. Clearly, there is no plausible — or moral — reason for a civilian to own one.

More than a regulation is needed, however; the ban must be a law. The Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act was introduced by U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy of Connecticut after the mass shooting of 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, in November.

Sessions also should contact Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy who proposed legislation to ban bump stocks and other “rate of fire enhancements” to semiautomatic weapons, such as trigger cranks, binary trigger systems or other modifications. Senate Bill 18 is before the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Security and we urge its passage through the chambers and into law.

A federal ban of bump stocks is a good step, but not nearly enough.

A majority of Americans, 90 percent, support closing loopholes on background checks required for the sale of firearms. Also, the bipartisan Fix NICS ACT, co-authored by Murphy, would ensure criminal history records are accurately reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

These are common sense measures to strengthen the existing systems, for which there should be no disagreement.

Now the expressed fury of surviving students at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is sparking action by youth across the country and may finally force this country to face the truth about rampant gun violence — and do more to stop it.