Sometimes there are no words. After the Sandy Hook tragedy we printed the names of the victims; what else could be said? We mourned, and moved on to writing about the bigger picture.
The Public's Health ran columns about gun violence, gun deaths, mental health, and the fact that Congressional action prevents the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from researching gun violence. The mass shootings continued.
We considered the negative health consequences of Islamophobia and homophobia. In some corners of society, things got worse.
So, why keep calling for action in the face of hate from some and hurricane force headwinds from the NRA and the politicians they own? Because to do nothing is to be complicit in a society that degrades the value of life by insisting that the Second Amendment grants citizens the right to purchase weapons of war even when they are suspected enemies of the state.
There are debates to be had between rational Americans on the limits of gun control, but there is no question that high-velocity weapons like the AR-15, used to wantonly kill 49 men and women at The Pulse in Orlando, Fla., have no place in the hands of civilians, let alone individuals on the U.S. Government's no-fly terrorist watch list. Hillary Clinton made the point powerfully when she said that "People can't board planes with full shampoo bottles—but people being watched by the FBI for terrorism can buy a gun, no questions asked." Perhaps enough elected officials, in this bizarre election year, will develop a spine and shame opponents of common sense gun safety into passing new laws to protect civilians. This week's filibuster on the Senate floor, led by Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), was a start. Maybe there's a perfect storm brewing—public frustration at gun massacres, the National Rifle Association and their allies overplaying their hand in the wake of mass shooting after mass shooting, and the fear-driven candidacy of presumptive GOP Presidential nominee Trump—that snaps politicians and people out of their inaction and allows us to do something about mass shootings and save lives.
The attack in Orlando—seemingly a combination of Isis-inspired terror, mental illness, and LGBT hatred—demands a law enforcement response. The power of federal, state, and local law enforcement must be brought to bear on terror, whether it be inspired by radical elements at home or abroad. But public health can also help here. Public health research into gun violence provides striking evidence for the damage that firearms can c in communities across our nation and offers policy solutions that move beyond the traditional gun control/gun rights debate. Public health scientists help us understand the myths and realities of mental illness and violence. And public health offers insight into how homophobia can be harmful to both its perpetrators and its victims.
In his remarks at a memorial to The Pulse victims on Thursday, President Obama pointed out that "the motives of this killer may have been different than the mass killers in Aurora, or Newtown. But the instruments of death were so similar.""We can't anticipate or catch every single deranged person," Obama said, "but we can do something about the amount of damage that they do." If we don't, we will sadly be writing about these kinds of horrific events in the months and years to come.
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