Nation desperate for leaders to address gun violence epidemic

Too often in America, public spaces feel like battlegrounds, where life can end in an instant. The senseless violence that shattered Birmingham, Ala., over the weekend is yet another painful reminder of this reality. Four people lost their lives, and 17 others were injured when shooters opened fire on a crowd outside a nightclub. This marks the second mass shooting in Birmingham in just two months — a horrific trend that continues to escalate across the nation.

According to Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond, this attack was targeted and the gunmen allegedly were paid to kill a specific individual. That means that tragically, the other 20 victims were collateral damage of America’s gun violence epidemic. As in so many cases, no suspects have been apprehended, leaving the community in shock and mourning.

The problem of gun violence in America has festered for far too long, enabled by a gun lobby that opposes even the most basic regulations and by politicians who refuse to act even though most Americans want a change.

The numbers alone should spark outrage. The United States has already seen 404 mass shootings in 2024. Such violence has become so routine that it barely registers beyond the local headlines, even as more than 120 Americans die every day from gun-related incidents. These deaths include both homicides and suicides, and the U.S. gun homicide rate remains more than 20 times that of other developed nations.

Yet despite these harrowing figures, meaningful legislative progress has continued to stall.

In 2022, in the wake of a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers, President Joe Biden brokered a deal on limited gun reforms, marking the first federal legislative progress in nearly 30 years.

Simultaneously, some states governed by Democrats have passed reasonable restrictions on guns in recent years, including strengthening background checks that keep guns out of the hands of known criminals and bans on “ghost guns” used by gangs and other criminal organizations. Unfortunately, here in Nevada, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed both of those proposals. Lombardo is not alone among his conservative colleagues in putting the support of his wealthy donors ahead of the lives of children. A former sheriff should know better.

Since Uvalde, 26 conservative states have loosened gun laws, allowing criminals to bypass background checks under certain circumstances, allowing handguns to be carried without permits and even allowing firearms in schools. This deregulation has coincided with a rise in gun ownership among the public generally, exacerbating the issue rather than mitigating it.

As a result, more than 20,000 Americans die each year from gun violence, not counting suicides. These deaths outpace even the horrors of war: In 2010, during the deadliest year of the Afghan conflict, 20 times more Americans were killed by guns at home than by combat abroad.

While gun advocates frequently argue that mental health is the real issue behind America’s violence, studies show that gun ownership is a much more significant factor. The belief that arming more citizens will make society safer — the so-called “good guy with a gun” theory — has been repeatedly disproved. Data show that in cases of active attacks, it is more likely for a shooter to finish their carnage and leave the scene of a crime or to kill themselves than it is for them to be stopped by armed law enforcement or any other “good guy” with a gun.

Moreover, a 2021 study indicated that in schools with armed security, the death toll was nearly three times higher than in those without. Researchers speculate that the presence of “good guys with guns” might embolden attackers, rather than deter them, especially when shooters are already intent on suicide.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support commonsense gun control, with even a Fox News poll showing that more than three-quarters of Americans support universal background checks, red flag laws and bans on automatic conversion kits like those suspected of being used in Birmingham. But instead of implementing these reforms, politicians and gun-rights advocacy groups continue to stand in the way of progress.

Simultaneously, the federal judiciary, once considered a backstop against legislative inaction around guns, has become a mouthpiece for gun-rights extremists. In 2021, the Supreme Court expanded gun rights to ensure that handguns — the weapon responsible for most U.S. gun deaths — would remain prevalent on American streets.

The American people must demand change. Voters need to exercise their power to oust those who prioritize gun lobby profits over public safety. But beyond the voters, it is time for politicians themselves to take a hard look in the mirror. They must ask themselves if their careers, bankrolled by the gun lobby, are worth more than the lives of Americans who are slaughtered week after week.

The time for empty thoughts and prayers is long over. We need bold action to stop the carnage, before it’s too late for the next victims waiting in line.