Two days ago, there was a school shooting at a small private Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin. I've been thinking about what, if anything, I want to say as someone who spends a great deal of time researching school shootings, and I'm struggling.
I could show how there's been no Federal action on gun control between now and the last major school shooting at Apalachee High School. I could describe the recent gun regulation bills from California, some of which could reduce the likelihood of school shootings. Or I point to incoming President Trump’s stated intentions to weaken existing gun regulations and appoint pro-gun people to lead the ATF. However, none of this would be helpful. It might inform you a little, but it wouldn’t give you something to do, something actionable, a concrete next step to address the cause of our suffering. That’s because I don’t have one.
I'm beginning to feel like my research is a collection of "no shit" conclusions. "Oh, strong gun regulations significantly lower gun-related deaths?" Yeah, no shit. "Oh, all of the proposed solutions coming through state legislators are terrible and don't solve the problem of school shootings?" No shit. “What's that you say? Most proposed solutions will funnel money away from public schools to private companies, many of which use methods taken from police or prisons?” No shit. We know comprehensive gun regulation can save lives. The evidence is pretty straightforward.
After years of reading hundreds of articles and dozens of books, collecting and analyzing data, and integrating tools and theories from education, public policy, and data science, I believe the United States will never pass comprehensive gun regulation. Ever. The reasons why I think this will probably comprise half of a dissertation.
Most people disagree with me, however. Most people have one of two categories of solutions for school shootings, depending on their political affiliation. Liberals usually want to ban “assault weapons” (a term no one has a definition for), and conservatives usually want to harden schools with metal detectors and bulletproof glass. Both liberals and conservatives often call for more police in schools. None of these will help prevent school shootings. It’s amazing how vast the disconnect is between the problem and the proposed solutions. It’s devastating how effective that disconnect is at preventing meaningful discussion or looking at the most basic evidence.
School shootings are a uniquely American problem. It’s not even close. But strangely, Americans are not more violent than other people in other countries. Gun violence is not primarily a cultural or mental health issue; it’s always been about guns.
It is the lethality of our preferred tools of violence rather than us having a greater capacity for violence. We just have more access to more effective ways of killing each other than everyone else.
I’m asking myself, what if, after all this research, I learn that we already have the solutions to prevent school shootings, but we won’t ever use them? What if it’s more important to people in my country to be able to arm themselves than it is to save children’s lives, even their own? I don't know what to do with that idea.
I chose to research school shootings in part because I was deeply impacted by the Columbine High School shooting. I was in seventh grade and lived a short distance from the school. I grew up with friends who were survivors who had family members injured or killed. The adults in my life struggled to help me make sense of what happened. I sincerely believe that all of them had good intentions but were ill-equipped to provide comfort, and, in the absence of real answers, they invented explanations that made sense to them. They told me Columbine happened because of the Devil, because of demons influencing those boys. It happened because of the moral degradation of America, specifically abortion, and probably homosexuals, too. The people killed were martyrs for Jesus. Also, Marylin Manson was responsible a little. The NRA wasn’t helping either.
If this research has given me anything, it’s the ability to sit down with my 13-year-old self amidst his confusion, pain, and fear and provide comfort and real explanations that could help him process trauma. I’d be able to tell him that two very angry, violent people with guns killed other people. I’d say to him that it doesn't make sense, it's not his fault, and that it will hurt for a while, and that’s okay. I’d tell him there's no reason why some people died and others lived, there's no justification or plan, and that God had nothing to do with saving or condemning anybody. I’d tell him I'm sorry for all the weird, contrived explanations adults will invent to make sense of what happened. I’d tell him they’re doing it to comfort themselves and each other because they’re just as scared and confused as he is.
I’d tell him "I love you and I’m sorry," because after all this time, it’s only getting worse.