In the wake of yet another American mass shooting, this time at a school in Parkland, FL, I find myself in a painfully familiar place: sad, angry, wanting to do something--anything!--to keep these from happening again. I see all the same talking points regurgitated on social media and the news. And in many ways, I feel helpless. Like many people, I have my own opinions on changes that might mitigate this epidemic in the future.
The problem is that it feels like it's all just shouting into the night. I don't want that, and the purpose of this site is to encourage dialog rather than echoes.
So an important question to ask, then, is how do we even begin this conversation? How do we get the advocates for gun rights to come together with gun control advocates to have meaningful dialog that moves the conversation forward, past the same old shouting points?
I think the first thing is to find the common ground. While it may seem obvious, let's lay it out:
We all want to end the murdering of our precious children.
The problem is that it feels like it's all just shouting into the night. I don't want that, and the purpose of this site is to encourage dialog rather than echoes.
So an important question to ask, then, is how do we even begin this conversation? How do we get the advocates for gun rights to come together with gun control advocates to have meaningful dialog that moves the conversation forward, past the same old shouting points?
I think the first thing is to find the common ground. While it may seem obvious, let's lay it out:
We all want to end the murdering of our precious children.
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A few more points from which to build:
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I think another important starting point is to recognize that this is a complex issue, and most of the ideas about how to fix it are not backed up by research--mine included. This is because there hasn't been a lot of research on the topic since the mid 1990's, when the CDC was effectively prevented from funding gun violence research (Note: this has technically been restored, but the agency has not received money to be used in funding new studies).
As a comparison, the CDC funds research on car safety, which has led to amazing improvements the last couple of decades. Because the people building the cars and setting the policy had actual data to inform their ideas.
Having more information about the topic makes for a better conversation and debate.
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​So what do you think? What can we do to have actual, constructive conversations about this issue?
As a comparison, the CDC funds research on car safety, which has led to amazing improvements the last couple of decades. Because the people building the cars and setting the policy had actual data to inform their ideas.
Having more information about the topic makes for a better conversation and debate.
​
​So what do you think? What can we do to have actual, constructive conversations about this issue?
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