Connecticut has a gun violence problem, but it’s not just mass shootings

It’s at all times been the weapons.

It’s exhausting to calculate what number of mass shootings have plagued our nation because the begin of the yr due to what’s thought-about to be a “mass” casualty. However in Connecticut, the calculus is simple since we haven’t had a mass capturing in our state since December 2012.

Our main gun violence challenge is a unique one: Neighborhood shootings and suicides.

Jeremy Stein, Government Director of Connecticut Towards Gun Violence, asks what I feel is a pertinent query: simply because the deaths in our state aren’t taking place in a single mass capturing, ought to we care much less about them?

As of February, there have been 37 deadly gun shootings throughout the state; 20 suicides and 17 homicides. The lion’s share of the homicides have been in Connecticut’s interior cities — 5 in New Haven, two in Hartford and two in Bridgeport. Numbers for March weren’t but out there on the time of this report.

Nearly a decade in the past, I reported on the homicide of Christopher Fain in New Haven. Two years after his demise, his assassin was nonetheless at-large, and his grieving household celebrated his birthday with out him. I sat in his sister’s front room, studying about Fain and what made him chortle, whereas she wiped tears from her chin. Fain, who was 19 on the time of his homicide, was shot whereas driving his bike on Dixwell Avenue. He spent two days within the hospital and solely opened his eyes as soon as earlier than passing, in accordance with his sister, Lauren Pittman.

The households and family members who are suffering by tragedy after tragedy because of gun violence by no means fairly heal. They discover new coping mechanisms and revolutionary methods to handle the loss. However gun crime doesn’t simply influence kinfolk and associates of the victims. It takes a small piece out of those that examine it, hear about it or write about it for the native paper.

It solely took one horrific tragedy — the homicide of 20 kids and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty — for us to tighten our gun legal guidelines. However not practically sufficient has been finished to enhance the standard of every day life for individuals who are impacted by gun violence of their neighborhoods.

Stein mentioned he received 10 occasions extra calls from reporters and advocates across the nation within the wake of the Nashville Covenant college capturing than he sometimes does on gun violence.

The very fact is, individuals wish to hear Connecticut’s perspective on gun violence and management.

“Connecticut has lengthy led the way in which in gun security for one easy motive — we don’t imagine the fallacy that weapons don’t kill individuals,” he mentioned. “However we now have to care in regards to the gun points in our neighborhoods. Any person goes to get shot right now in Connecticut, and we’re simply not taking note of it.”

Stein and his group keep that robust gun laws saves lives. Proper now, Connecticut has the third-strongest gun legal guidelines within the nation and the fifth-lowest charge of gun deaths. Nashville, Tennessee, has a number of the weakest gun laws within the nation.

“In Connecticut, we’re excited about the problems of gun violence the best manner,” he mentioned. “However that’s not true across the nation. Gun violence is a multifaceted program that wants many alternative options.”

A couple of of these options presently being thought-about are contained in Home Invoice 6667, An Act Addressing Gun Violence, as really useful by the governor’s price range, which lawmakers voted to advance simply someday after the Nashville capturing.

The invoice bans the open carry of firearms and the majority buy of handguns and raises the minimal age for buying lengthy weapons to 21.

In line with Stein, the invoice additionally carries with it the essential requirement of secure storage, which he says is crucial since an excessive amount of the weapons concerned in community-level shootings are stolen.

With out laws that mandates secure storage, we are able to do little to guard individuals from gun crime involving stolen weapons.

“What I’ve heard rather a lot from mother and father is that this battle with the reality about America,” he mentioned, “which is that we are able to not assure that our kids are going to be secure till each state within the nation has the identical form of gun legal guidelines.”

The outrage over the Nashville college capturing is suitable, as are ideas and prayers for the victims, their households and the group at giant. However motion within the type of frequent sense gun management is extra essential.

Till we’re in a position to get a grip on the on a regular basis gun violence, outrage within the face of mass tragedies gained’t ever be sufficient to maintain youngsters and households secure.

Connecticut could also be on a brand new entrance within the warfare on gun violence, however the challenge isn’t new, Stein mentioned. We’ve simply gotten comfy with a sure form of gun violence.

We did that tough work after we misplaced 26 individuals to a mass capturing greater than a decade in the past. However since then, a whole bunch of individuals have died by gunfire in our communities and by suicide.

Certain, individuals kill individuals — however since they’re utilizing weapons, it’s time to concentrate on the weapons.