The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Catherine Woodall
As a gunshot wound survivor of the deadliest mass shooting to date on U.S. soil, I am once again sickened, angered and disappointed in President Trump's callous response to a mass shooting in our country. When asked at White House Christmas reception to comment on the mass shooting at Brown University, which resulted in two student deaths and nine injuries, President Trump said, “Things can happen. So to the nine injured — get well fast; and to the families of those two that are no longer with us, I pay my deepest regards and respects from the United States of America.”
When I compare these empty words to those of Australia’s leaders in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, which occurred one day after the Brown University shooting, I am furious that such a man can hold our highest office. A man who does not even recognize the gravity of gun violence and who continues to reduce it to simply a thing that happens in our country.
Immediately following the Bondi Beach mass shooting, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, “The government is prepared to take whatever action necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws.”
Leaders recognizing the need to respond with action when innocent civilians are murdered by gun-wielding assailants is nothing new for Australia. Following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, Australia’s political leaders united behind the effort to tighten the country’s gun laws. They passed the National Firearms Agreement, which restricted the sale of semi-automatic rifles and pump-action shotguns and established a national buyback program that resulted in the surrender of more than 650,000 guns, according to the National Museum of Australia. The country had zero mass shootings in the more than two decades that followed the agreement.
The Bondi Beach mass shooting took place on a Sunday. By Monday, the prime minister and regional Australian leaders agreed to work toward even stronger gun measures including renegotiating the National Firearms Agreement, speeding up the National Firearms Register, using more criminal intelligence in the firearms licensing process, limiting the number of guns one person can own, limiting the types of guns and modifications that are legal, only allowing Australian citizens to hold a firearms license, and introducing further customs restrictions on guns and related equipment.
The swift actions that took place after the 1996 mass shooting as well as those that occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi Beach tragedy demonstrate without a doubt that Australia’s political leaders are moved to action by the spilled blood of their slain citizens.
Unlike the political leaders of Australia, so many of our politicians, including our president, remain in the pockets of the gun lobby and the National Rifle Association. When a mass shooting occurs on our soil, nothing is done. Rather than honor with action those who are killed, maimed, and emotionally injured, many U.S. politicians hide behind the Second Amendment and offer meaningless words of sympathy. Our politicians owe us more than empty words.
We should no longer accept gun violence as the norm in our society. Demand more of our elected officials. Demand they pass gun sense laws, including a ban on assault rifles, that will save innocent lives. Demand politicians no longer attempt to wash away the spilled blood of U.S. citizens with simple condolences.
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