A8 The Nation The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 7, 2019
MASSSHOOTINGSselvesmen.There’s an old song
by the ’80s groupXTC called
“The Smartest Monkeys” that
often springsto my mind when
I read of the latest massacre.Of
the 22 deadin El Paso and the
nine in Dayton.That’s all we
are: The apes who got bigger
brains and never fully figured
out what to do with them.
Would the carnage be happen-
ing if we had?
Here’s news to no one: We
are in a crisisof maleinsecurity
in this country, specifically
whitemaleinsecurity. The in-
security is promptedby, among
otherthings, the demandsof
womenand minoritiesfor an
equalshareof the pie, the
megaphoneof the Internet that
has allowedthosegroupsa
loudervoice,and theirincreas-
ing successat the local and na-
tionalballotbox. Or, rather, the
insecurity is promptedby fear
of thesedevelopments— the
belief that if otherkindsof peo-
ple achieve a measureof politi-
cal power, there’ll be less for
the men who always had it.
To whichthe toddlerbrain
saysbangbang,but with real
bullets and full magazines.
I was one of thoselittle boys
once,I’m sure of it. I grew up.
Part of my growingup was
learningto shoota rifle and
shootit well,and to under-
stand what it shouldand
shouldnever be pointedat. I
believe in responsiblegun own-
ership,and I believe that by far
the majority of Americansdo,
too. But even part of that ma-
jority losesits headwhencom-
uBURR
Continued fromPageA
mon-sensegun reformis dis-
cussed,becausewe have this
strange idea in America,in-
flamedby the NationalRifle
Association and othervested
entities,that gunsare not only
intimately entwinedwith liber-
ty — with one’s personaland
politicalfreedom — but with
one’s independenceand poten-
cy as a male.There’s this notion
that takingaway the rightto
own a certain type of firearm
will lead to a nationalunman-
ning.
Which,honestly, does not
soundlike a bad idea right
aboutnow. I, for one, am ready
to handthe entiremessthat is
our dysfunctionalsociety over
to the women.But for a certain
individual out on the fringes, a
man who feels threatenedand
whosefear has beenstoked,
reaching for the boom-boom
stick may be like reachingfor
the security blanket.
The issueis certainlynot
videogames,for pity’s sakes.
Republicanpoliticiansand the
bloviators on Fox News will tell
you that “Callof Duty” and
“Fortnite”are behindthe car-
nage in El Paso and Dayton,the
GilroyGarlicFestival and the
Poway synagoguein California.
Do they understand how many
millions of peopleplay video
gamesand don’t becomemass
murderers?That virtuallyev-
eryoneunder35 knowshis or
her way arounda gamingcon-
sole? A recentOxfordstudy
foundno correlation whatsoev-
er between violent videogame
use and aggressive behavior in
adolescents.One of the Sandy
Hook killer’s favorite gameswas “DanceDanceRevolution.”
Maybe we shouldban that.
Want to blamementalill-
ness?Every humansociety on
earth has its share. No other
country has even closeto the
numberof massshootingsas
the United States. Nor are so-
cial mediaor violence in mov-
ies and on TV the convenient
villains somemighthopefor.
The formerempowersand edu-
cates as muchas it dividesand
foments; the latter is more a
symptomof the male need for
bangbangthan a cause.
Honestly, it’s not even the
guns.OK, it’s mostly the guns.
But whenyou burrowdownto
the diseasedheart of it all,
what is sharedby the worst
masskillings in America— the
ones with the highest body
counts,the biggest amount of
ordnance, and the most ran-
dom victims — is that they are
carriedout by aggrieved white
men who feel the country and
the world slipping from theircontrol.Whichit is, very slowly
but very surely, and probably
abouttime,too.
These men wanttheirbang
bangback— the feelingof in-
dominability they feel they
werepromisedand believed
theirkind oncehad. They see
theirpowerwaning, theirprivi-
lege finallyin question, and it
terrifiesthem.So they lash out,
often at co-workers or spouses
and girlfriends.And sometimes
they pick up the biggest stick
they can find and go after the
boogeyman ofthem.Which,
whenall the shooting’s over
and the bullets have been
spent, always turnsout to be
men,women,children;
fathers,mothers,grandpar-
ents.Republicansand Demo-
crats. New Americansand old,
notthem,in otherwords.Just
us.Ty Burr canbe reached at
[email protected] him
on Twitter@tyburr.boasts nearly 6 million support-
ers. She saidshe findsit “so
frustrating” to hearpeoplesay
nothing happened after that
shooting, “becausewe hap-
pened,” noting her group tri-
pled in size after Parkland.
Since Sandy Hook, 45 states
and Washington, D.C., have put
into placemorethan 300 new
gun laws, according to the Gif-
fordsLaw Centerto Prevent
Gun Violence, a nationaladvo-
cacy organization basedin San
Francisco.
In the year and a half since
Parkland, wherea formerstu-
dent killed 17 students and staff
with a semiautomatic rifle, law-
makers across32 states and D.C.
have enacted 110 gun safety
bills,accordingto the Giffords
center. Those includemeasures
to strengthenbackground
checks,closeprivate sale loop-
holes,and implement “red flag”
laws that give judges the power
to temporarilystrip weapons
away frompeopleidentified as a
danger to themselvesor others
by law enforcement, family, or
othercloseassociates.
In 16 states, Republican gov-
ernorshave beenthe onesto
sign the post-Parkland laws.
That includesMassachusetts
GovernorCharlieBaker, who
put his signature on a red flag
law a year ago, making the state
one of 17 to put that particular
type of law in place.
And on Tuesday in Ohio, the
Republicangovernorbucked
his party and calledon the GOP-
led state Legislature to passa
slew of gun bills, includinga red
flag law and a measurethat
would require background
checksfor nearlyall sales.
‘‘We can come together to do
these things to save lives,’’ said
Governor Mike DeWine.
Eachhorrific shootinggets
morepeopleoff the sidelines
and fighting for stronger gun
laws, Watts said. Her group
takes creditat the state level
across the country for thwart-
ing efforts that would have al-
lowed guns on college campus-
es, armed elementary and high
schoolteachers, repealedlaws
requiring permitsto carry con-
cealedguns,or establishedex-
pansive “standyourground”
self-defense rights even in cases
where retreat is an option.
This year alone, gun-control
activists defeated bills backed
by the gun lobby in 26 states,
according to the Giffords cen-
ter. Legislation to arm teachers
and other civilian staff on K-
campuses — an NRA-backed
proposalfor whichPresident
Trumpexpressedsupport after
the Parkland massacre— failed
in 18 states.
But the NRA and gun rights
movement have hardly been
neutered, despite being mired
in scandaland in-fighting. Top
staff have beenaccusedof mis-
management, and in recent
months, the NRA’s president
was ousted and its top lobbyist
resigned amid the turmoil..
Yet the nation’s most power-
ful gun lobbycontinues to be a
powerful forcein Washington,
particularly with key Republi-
cans and the president.
“Since 2013,states have en-
acted into law nearly 2½ times
the numberof bills protecting
the rightsof law-abidinggun
owners as compared to bills re-
stricting thoserights.That’s be-
causeAmericans fundamental-
ly support the rightto defend
themselvesand theirloved
ones,” said NRA spokesman
Lars Dalseide.
The groupsays they count
272 pro-gun bills enacted into
law since2013,comparedto
113 gun-control measures.
Among other state-level vic-
tories,gun rightsgroupshave
succeededin expandingthe
places people can carry guns in
public as well as dramatically
relaxed concealed carry laws,
said Goss, the Duke professor.
In 2019, two states – Indiana
and North Dakota — passed
laws aimed at allowinggunsin
some K-12 schools.
The NRA releaseda state-uGUNS
ContinuedfromPageAment Monday praising Trump’s
10-minutespeechin which he
claimed“mental illness and ha-
tred pullsthe trigger — not the
gun.” The line echoesthe NRA’s
stance that “guns don’t kill peo-
ple, people kill people.”
And despite the president’s
earlier tweets expressing sup-
port for Democrats and Repub-
licans to worktogether for
“strongbackground checks,”
Trumphas not calledfor any
new gun laws.
Senator Chris Murphy, Dem-
ocrat of Connecticut who has
beenpushing for tougher gun
laws sinceSandy Hook, said
he’s “pretty skeptical” Congress
will pass any stronger gun laws
now. Two bills tightening back-
groundchecksthat passedthe
House this year with bipartisan
support — and are opposedby
the NRA — remain stalled in
the Senate. The White House al-
so threatened to veto both bills.
But supporters of stronger
gun laws point to the 2018 mid-
term elections as a major rea-
son they feel optimistic they
will eventuallyprevail — evenin Congress — over the NRA
and its allies.
“Votershave always told us
that they care aboutthis issue
andthey support common
sense measureslike universal
background checks,” said Repre-
sentative KatherineClark of
Melrose, a member of the House
leadership who helped lead the
Democrats’ candidate recruit-
mentduringthe 2018cycle. For
the first time,Democrats found
that voters were putting it as
one of theirtop issues“and
looking for candidates who
would support that,” she said.
That was true in Republican
districts, swing districts, and
Democratic-held districts,
Clark said.“That was a notice-
able change in 2018.”
There were43 federal races
where a candidate backed by
Everytownfor Gun Safety, the
gun-control organization fund-
ed by former mayor Michael R.
Bloomberg of New York, went
head to head against an NRA-
endorsed candidate — and 77%
of the NRA candidates lost, ac-
cording to Everytown.
For further evidence of the
political shift on gun issues, ac-
tivists pointto the 2020 Demo-
cratic presidential primary,
wherecandidates seemto be
competing to be the strongest on
the issue — following two elec-
tions, 2008and 2012, whereBa-
rack Obama avoidedthe topic.
Rather than focus on the tur-
moilat the NRA, Murphy said,
“Republicans should be more
worried about the fact that 18
NRA A-rated membersof Con-
gresslost their seats in 2018. Re-
publicansjust refuse to ac-
knowledge that in a relatively
short amountof time, guns have
become a voting issue for swing
votersand a turnout issue.”TheAssociated Press
contributed to thisreport.
Victoria McGranecan be
reached at victoria.mcgrane@
globe.com. Follow her on
Twitter @vgmac.ByHannahKnowles
WASHINGTONPOST
As lawmakers acrossthe
country sparoverhow to pre-
vent massshootings, Ohio Gov-
ernor Mike DeWineannounced
proposals on Tuesday to com-
bat gun violence. The proposals
cometwo days after an attack
that killed ninepeoplein Day-
ton, Ohio, and shocked a coun-
try grieving anothermassacre
in El Paso.
The Republicanleader
calledon the state legislature to
increase gunbackground
checks and pass a law on ‘‘safety
protection orders’’allowingthe
court-ordered removal of guns
frompeople deemeda danger
to themselves or others.
DeWine also urged improve-
ments to the state’s mental
healthresources and stricter
penaltiesfor the illegal pur-
chaseand possessionof fire-
arms, sayingthat many of his
recommendations werealready
in the worksbut have taken on
new urgency in the wake of the
tragedy that struck Dayton’s
historicOregon District early
Sunday morning.
‘‘Do something!’’ a woman
shouted as DeWine prepared to
speak from the lectern, echoing
the frustrated chants that
drownedout the governor’s re-
marks at a Sunday vigil.
The chanterswere ‘‘abso-
lutely right,’’ DeWine said Tues-
day. ‘‘We must do something.
And that is exactly what we are
going to do.’’
Under the safety protection
ordersDeWineoutlined, a per-
son’s firearms would be taken
away if a judge findsclear and
convincing evidence they pose a
threat — for example, because
of suicideplans,mentalhealth
issues, substance abuse, or ‘‘vio-
lent tendencies.’’ The orders,
the governor said, will allow
people who notify law enforce-
ment about loved ones to get
them quick help.
DeWine is also asking law-
makers to pass a law requiring
backgroundchecksfor all fire-
arm salesin Ohio,withexcep-
tions for casessuch as gifts be-
tween family members. And he
proposedstiffening the punish-
mentsfor peoplewhoviolate
existing gun ownership restric-
tions — for example, felons
withfirearmsand people who
illegally buy guns for others.
ConnorBetts, identifiedbypolice as the gunmanin the
Daytonshooting, boughthis
gun legally, accordingto Day-
ton police.Authorities say he
firedat least 41 roundsfroma
pistol modeled on the AR-15,
whichBetts modified with a
brace to be shoulderedin the
style of a rifle.
While some mourning Bet-
ts’s victims— including Day-
ton’s police chief — have ques-
tioned citizens’ access to such
high-poweredweapons,others
have focusedon Betts’s trou-
bled history. Despite his mini-
mal adult criminal record, the
24-year-old struggled with
mentalhealth issues and was
oncecaughtcompilinga ‘‘hit
list’’ of people he wantedto
harmor kill, friends and class-mates toldThe Washington
Post.
DeWinealso emphasized
the needfor better mental
healthresourcesin his remarks
Tuesday, echoingotherRepub-
lican leaders’ responsesto mass
shootings. President Trump has
emphasizedcombating mental
illness and called for ‘‘strong
background checks.’’
Democratic leadershave ad-
vocated expanded background
checks as well as new restric-
tions on the kinds of gunscivil-
ians can own, challenging Sen-
ate Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
Connell, Republicanof
Kentucky, to call lawmakers to
Congress for an emergency ses-
sion and passmorestringent
gun-control laws.Striking their blows for male privilege
WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES
Protestersmadetheirfeelingsknownin Washington,D.C.Ohio leader urges
curbs on firearms
JOSHUA A. BICKEL/THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH VIA ASSOCIATED PRESSRepublicanGovernorMike DeWineurgedlawmakersTuesday to passlawsrequiringbackgroundchecksforgunsales.
JOHNMINCHILLO/ASSOCIATEDPRESS
A Daytonpolicedetectiveperformeda gridsearchTuesday
besidea makeshift memorial.Activists seemomentum onstate gun curbsCHIP SOMODEVILLA/GETTYIMAGES
SenatorChrisMurphy said
gunbillsarestalledin D.C.Ye t theNRAcontinuesto beapowerfulforceinWashington,particularlywithkey Republicans.