SCIENCE science.org 3 JUNE 2022 • VOL 376 ISSUE 6597 1027H. Holden Thorp
Editor-in-Chief,
Science journals.
[email protected];
@hholdenthorpA
merica is reeling from yet another devastat-
ing spate of mass shootings. Last month, in the
span of 10 days, shooters targeted a Taiwanese
church in California, a grocery store in a Black
neighborhood in New York, and an elementary
school in Texas. Although opponents of sensible
gun control—the kind that prevails throughout
most of the civilized world—continue to put the spotlight
on the shooters’ motivations or unstable mental states,
these are cynical diversions from the one obvious truth:
The common thread in all of the country’s revolting mass
shootings is the absurdly easy access to guns. The science
is clear: Restrictions work, and it’s likely that even more
limitations would save thousands of lives. So why not take
the laws much further, as other countries have done? The
alternative is painfully obvious—
living with more and more sense-
less carnage, courtesy of the Na-
tional Rifle Association and their
well-funded political lackeys.
One argument used to justify
continued gun ownership is that
mass shootings are often the re-
sult of shooters with severe men-
tal illness. No doubt that mental
health is a factor. But the rates
of mental illness in the United
States are similar to those in
other countries where mass shootings rarely occur. It’s
access to guns that is the problem. Alan Leshner, an
expert in mental health research and policy (also the
former chief executive officer of the American Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science, the publisher of
Science), wrote about the fallacy of blaming gun vio-
lence on mental illness in the wake of another mass
shooting tragedy in 2019. Among Leshner’s points are
the fact that less than a third of the people who commit
mass shootings have a diagnosable mental disorder.
Another argument is that however strict we make
gun control laws, would-be shooters would find ways
to get around them. This is also misleading. As the
2017 analysis of Cook and Donohue conclusively
shows, extending criminal sentences for gun use in
violent crime, prohibiting gun ownership by individu-
als convicted of domestic violence, and restricting the
concealed carry of firearms lead to demonstrable re-ductions in gun violence. It’s not a stretch to assume
that further restrictions would save even more lives.
It’s also argued that gun ownership is guaranteed in
the Bill of Rights by the Second Amendment. But a lot
of things have changed since 1789, and there are many
times when the American people have concluded that
rights granted at the nation’s founding could not be
reconciled with modern conditions and knowledge. It
was decided that owning other human beings was not
consistent with the founding principles of America. It
was decided that prohibiting women from voting was
not consistent with a representative democracy. And
now it needs to be decided that unfettered gun own-
ership by American citizens is not consistent with a
flourishing country where people can worship, shop,
and be educated without fear.
Scientists should not sit on
the sidelines and watch others
fight this out. More research
into the public health impacts
of gun ownership will provide
further evidence of its deadly
consequences. Science can show
that gun restrictions make soci-
eties safer. Science can show that
mental illness is not a determi-
native factor in mass shootings.
And science can show that rac-
ism is measurable and leads to violence.
Women’s suffrage, the end of slavery, and civil rights
were not won without struggle. Courageous activists
put their lives and livelihoods on the line to achieve
these advances. The victims of gun violence are not
here to fight for their rights, which were taken away
against their will. But the economic and social suc-
cess of the country affects everyone. If children do not
feel safe, they cannot learn. And a country that cannot
learn cannot thrive. A nation of children threatened by
gun violence does not have a future.
Make protest signs. Start marching. Push lawmakers
to finally break the partisan gridlock that has made
moments of silence a regular observance. The National
Rifle Association and its minions must be defeated. It’s
up to us because the victims of gun violence are tragi-
cally and devastatingly not here to protest themselves.
–H. Holden ThorpWe know what the problem is
Published online 26 May 2022; 10.1126/science.add“A nation of children
threatened by
gun violence does
not have a future.”
PHOTO: CAMERON DAVIDSON