SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
People attend a candlelight vigil at a makeshift memorial honoring victims of a mass shooting that left 23 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Science Journal Editorial Says 'Minions' of NRA 'Must Be Defeated' to Save Nation
"A nation of children threatened by gun violence does not have a future."
May 27, 2022
A new Science editorial calls on scientists to get up from "the sidelines" of the national gun control debate and debunks arguments frequently used by right-wing politicians and media personalities to reject tightening limits on firearm access.
"A nation of children threatened by gun violence does not have a future," it states.
Authored by Science editor-in-chief Holden Thorp, the editorial was published online Thursday in the wake of a string of mass shootings--on May 14 at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 15 at a church in Laguna Woods, California, and May 24 in Uvalde, Texas--and as the NRA is set to begin its annual meeting in Houston.
"The common thread in all of the country's revolting mass shootings is the absurdly easy access to guns," Thorp wrote. "The science is clear: Restrictions work, and it's likely that even more limitations would save thousands of lives."
Failure to impose tightened restrictions on that access, he wrote, ensures "living with more and more senseless carnage, courtesy of the National Rifle Association and their well-funded political lackeys."
Thorp refuted the suggestion that mass shootings in the U.S. can be blamed upon national rates of mental illness, noting that the levels "are similar to those in other countries where mass shootings rarely occur" and that previous research found that "less than a third of the people who commit mass shootings have a diagnosable mental disorder."
Assertions that gun restrictions are useless because a potential assailant could simply work around them also don't hold water, he wrote. Citing 2017 research, Thorp noted that "extending criminal sentences for gun use in violent crime, prohibiting gun ownership by individuals convicted of domestic violence, and restricting the concealed carry of firearms lead to demonstrable reductions in gun violence."
The Second Amendment, Thorp continued, is also a flawed justification for not imposing stricter gun control laws. He pointed to "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," citing slavery and women's suffrage.
As happened with those issues, he wrote that it must now "be decided that unfettered gun ownership by American citizens is not consistent with a flourishing country where people can worship, shop, and be educated without fear."
Thorp concluded with a direct appeal to fellow scientists, who can show "that gun restrictions make societies safer" and "that racism is measurable and leads to violence."
"Make protest signs. Start marching. Push lawmakers to finally break the partisan gridlock that has made moments of silence a regular observance," he wrote.
The NRA "and its minions," he added, "must be defeated."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A new Science editorial calls on scientists to get up from "the sidelines" of the national gun control debate and debunks arguments frequently used by right-wing politicians and media personalities to reject tightening limits on firearm access.
"A nation of children threatened by gun violence does not have a future," it states.
Authored by Science editor-in-chief Holden Thorp, the editorial was published online Thursday in the wake of a string of mass shootings--on May 14 at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 15 at a church in Laguna Woods, California, and May 24 in Uvalde, Texas--and as the NRA is set to begin its annual meeting in Houston.
"The common thread in all of the country's revolting mass shootings is the absurdly easy access to guns," Thorp wrote. "The science is clear: Restrictions work, and it's likely that even more limitations would save thousands of lives."
Failure to impose tightened restrictions on that access, he wrote, ensures "living with more and more senseless carnage, courtesy of the National Rifle Association and their well-funded political lackeys."
Thorp refuted the suggestion that mass shootings in the U.S. can be blamed upon national rates of mental illness, noting that the levels "are similar to those in other countries where mass shootings rarely occur" and that previous research found that "less than a third of the people who commit mass shootings have a diagnosable mental disorder."
Assertions that gun restrictions are useless because a potential assailant could simply work around them also don't hold water, he wrote. Citing 2017 research, Thorp noted that "extending criminal sentences for gun use in violent crime, prohibiting gun ownership by individuals convicted of domestic violence, and restricting the concealed carry of firearms lead to demonstrable reductions in gun violence."
The Second Amendment, Thorp continued, is also a flawed justification for not imposing stricter gun control laws. He pointed to "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," citing slavery and women's suffrage.
As happened with those issues, he wrote that it must now "be decided that unfettered gun ownership by American citizens is not consistent with a flourishing country where people can worship, shop, and be educated without fear."
Thorp concluded with a direct appeal to fellow scientists, who can show "that gun restrictions make societies safer" and "that racism is measurable and leads to violence."
"Make protest signs. Start marching. Push lawmakers to finally break the partisan gridlock that has made moments of silence a regular observance," he wrote.
The NRA "and its minions," he added, "must be defeated."
A new Science editorial calls on scientists to get up from "the sidelines" of the national gun control debate and debunks arguments frequently used by right-wing politicians and media personalities to reject tightening limits on firearm access.
"A nation of children threatened by gun violence does not have a future," it states.
Authored by Science editor-in-chief Holden Thorp, the editorial was published online Thursday in the wake of a string of mass shootings--on May 14 at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, on May 15 at a church in Laguna Woods, California, and May 24 in Uvalde, Texas--and as the NRA is set to begin its annual meeting in Houston.
"The common thread in all of the country's revolting mass shootings is the absurdly easy access to guns," Thorp wrote. "The science is clear: Restrictions work, and it's likely that even more limitations would save thousands of lives."
Failure to impose tightened restrictions on that access, he wrote, ensures "living with more and more senseless carnage, courtesy of the National Rifle Association and their well-funded political lackeys."
Thorp refuted the suggestion that mass shootings in the U.S. can be blamed upon national rates of mental illness, noting that the levels "are similar to those in other countries where mass shootings rarely occur" and that previous research found that "less than a third of the people who commit mass shootings have a diagnosable mental disorder."
Assertions that gun restrictions are useless because a potential assailant could simply work around them also don't hold water, he wrote. Citing 2017 research, Thorp noted that "extending criminal sentences for gun use in violent crime, prohibiting gun ownership by individuals convicted of domestic violence, and restricting the concealed carry of firearms lead to demonstrable reductions in gun violence."
The Second Amendment, Thorp continued, is also a flawed justification for not imposing stricter gun control laws. He pointed to "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," citing slavery and women's suffrage.
As happened with those issues, he wrote that it must now "be decided that unfettered gun ownership by American citizens is not consistent with a flourishing country where people can worship, shop, and be educated without fear."
Thorp concluded with a direct appeal to fellow scientists, who can show "that gun restrictions make societies safer" and "that racism is measurable and leads to violence."
"Make protest signs. Start marching. Push lawmakers to finally break the partisan gridlock that has made moments of silence a regular observance," he wrote.
The NRA "and its minions," he added, "must be defeated."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.