Calendar is full of grim anniversaries

It’s hard to read the news today and not be overwhelmed by numbers. The daily number of American deaths to COVID-19 is higher in recent days than the 2,403 lost in the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, which took place 79 years ago Monday. The anxiety that comes with living in America during this pandemic is commonly seen as fueling the 35 million background checks during 2020’s first 11 months, which obliterates the record set in 2019 of 28 million. Background checks don’t necessarily translate to gun sales, but are a measurement used by the FBI.

Such numbers can become opaque. Smaller numbers are easier to see.

Take “26.” On this month on the calendar in this part of the world, it reflexively brings to mind the number of children and faculty killed by guns at Sandy Hook Elementary School eight years ago, on Dec. 14, 2012.

Or try “one.” Though it was 40 years ago, many people can still quickly identify the person killed in by a handgun in New York City on Dec. 8, 1980.

John Lennon’s death inspired cries for gun control four decades ago that some elected officials, ever compromised by financial support from lobbyists, continue to hush. Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono, an eyewitness to his murder outside their apartment building, raised the volume on Tuesday’s anniversary. A visual artist, Ono revived the image of the former Beatle’s bloodied and broken spectacles from that night.

It’s an unflinching approach by Ono. It should be enough to make the point without numbers, or words. But she tweeted harsh statistics because so many still miss the point: “Over 1,436,000 people have been killed by guns in the U.S.A. since John Lennon was shot and killed on December 8, 1980.”

Yoko Ono is 87 now, and still up for the fight. She tagged the National Rifle Association, which relentlessly combats gun control legislation.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, based in Newtown, attributes the recent spike in gun sales to people seeking protection in this era of uncertainty. A spokesman provided survey results that suggest firearms as a growth industry with a diversifying market, with women representing 40 percent of first-time gun buyers and a “58 percent increase in African-Americans buying guns for the first time.”

We favor the numbers in this argument that demonstrate the value of strict legislation. In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, our state became a leader on the issue. A John Hopkins University study determined Connecticut’s permit requirement to buy a firearm led to a 40 percent decline in gun deaths. That figure flipped to a 25 percent increase in Missouri when a similar law was repealed.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has admitted a measure of shame for not speaking up against gun violence until the tragedy occurred in his district. He’s a reminder that quelling this tide of blood comes down to changing minds, one at a time.

John Lennon’s death inspired cries for gun control four decades ago that some elected officials, ever compromised by financial support from lobbyists, continue to hush.