Powerful New Allies To Help Prevent Gun Violence

The Gun Violence Prevention movement has long struggled to make headway against the huge lobbying efforts and money pumped into legislator's pockets.  But mass shooting after mass shooting, every increasing, has opened more eyes to the growing danger of gun violence in our society, and with each tragedy there are more supporters of our cause.  After Sandy Hook, for instance, we saw the formation of Moms Demand Action Against Gun Violence, funding efforts by Michael Bloomberg, and 

After the mass shooting in Orlando, at the Pulse club, with a record 49 people killed, plus the shooter, and 53 injured, more people than ever have come forward.  Notably, three powerful groups have thrown in their support.

The LGBTQ movement: Violence and murder against those of alternative sexual orientation has

only increased in recent years, with a massive jump in just the last year of 20%.  From a RawStory.com article, citing results from a report released by The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP):

The number of murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people jumped 20 percent in the United States last year, activists said on Monday, releasing their findings a day after a mass shooting at a Florida gay nightclub left 49 people dead. 

The violence in 2015 was the highest since 2012, according to the report by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP). ...

Beverly Tillery, who heads the New York City Anti-Violence Project, which coordinates the NCAVP, called for public discussion on LGBTQ people and violence. 

“This is … a tragedy that belongs to LGBTQ communities, but a tragedy that belongs to the entire nation as well,” she said. 

And given that the majority of those shot at the Pulse club were LGBTQ, it stands to reason that this demographic has now fully committed to the GVP movement.  In fact, 50 organizations signed a joint open letter to Congress calling for stronger gun legislation, including universal background checks, a renewed assault weapon ban, closing the Terror Gap, and stronger legislation against hate crimes.

I have every faith in the LGBTQ movement and their goals.  In the words of my friend, Mike The Gun Guy, from his blog post:

I don’t know what’s going to happen with the Senate vote this week and I care but I really don’t care.  Because the momentum created by the Orlando tragedy won’t go away.  And let’s not forget that when LGBTQ began its historic push for cultural change, many of Gun-nut Nation’s best friends (right-wing Evangelicals, political conservatives) tried to block their way. Guess what?  They lost.  And if LGBTQ gets behind gun violence prevention, Gun-nut Nation will lose that one, too.

The American Medical Association (AMA):  Though a number of other national health and medical associations have taken a stance in favor of increased gun regulation and a lifting of the federal ban on funding gun violence research, this week the AMA joined those ranks at their 2016 annual meeting, declaring that gun violence is a "public health crisis."  In a public release, they stated,

"With approximately 30,000 men, women and children dying each year at the barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a public health crisis of gun violence," said AMA President Steven J. Stack, M.D. "Even as America faces a crisis unrivaled in any other developed country, the Congress prohibits the CDC from conducting the very research that would help us understand the problems associated with gun violence and determine how to reduce the high rate of firearm-related deaths and injuries. An epidemiological analysis of gun violence is vital so physicians and other health providers, law enforcement, and society at large may be able to prevent injury, death and other harms to society resulting from firearms."

and they stated that they would lobby Congress for stronger gun reform, including waiting periods and universal gun background checks.

There was also a call to action by the AMA:

AMA policy guides our advocacy efforts for patients and physicians and at this meeting, we built on existing policy with several key developments:

• Officially calling gun violence in the United States a public health crisis that requires a comprehensive public health response and solution

• Directing the AMA to actively lobby Congress to overturn legislation that for 20 years has prevented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from researching gun violence

• Calling for background checks and a waiting period for all firearms purchasers, whereas previous policy only dealt with handguns

Numerous surgeons and other medical professionals testified at the meeting about their experiences with gun violence.  For instance:

One physician testified that she had treated so many gunshot victims as a resident that she was told to stop tracking the head and neck surgeries she performed because she had more than enough to demonstrate her competency to complete her training. 

A young emergency physician shared that trying to revive gunshot victims and treat the wounded had become shockingly routine for him. What’s more, he noted that even as an academic physician treating such a high number of victims, he doesn’t have the ability to turn to data to examine how these injuries might be prevented.

Indeed, gun violence is an urgent public health crisis, and an evidence-based approach is the only logical way to address the problem.  

Veterans Coalition for Common Sense:  A group of former senior military officials,

including General David Petraeus, General Wesley Clark, and General Stanley McChrystal, along with other generals and admirals, and spearheaded by Captain Mark Kelly, have formed this new group of veterans committed to the GVP movement, Veterans Coalition for Common Sense, splintering off from Captain Kelly's other group, Americans for Responsible Solutions.  HERE is the official organizational announcement with the signatures of each of the military leaders who founded it.

From an article by Stars and Stripes:

“Veterans are folks that understand firearms and weapons. These are people who swore an oath to defend the Constitution, which includes the Second Amendment,” Kelly said. "At the same time, we have a problem with more than 30,000 people dying from gun violence and have to act.” 

The group also plans to address the outsized impact of guns used in veteran suicides. Nearly two-thirds of veterans who kill themselves do so with a firearm, according to data from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

The article then goes on to point out:

A 2013 Global Strategy Group poll of 804 veterans found 84 percent agreed with the statement that “we can protect responsible gun owners’ Second Amendment rights while still making it more difficult for criminals and other dangerous people to obtain guns.”

No doubt, in the coming days, we will see more national groups join forces with the GVP movement.  Despite this week's failure, once again, by our federal leaders to pass any meaningful gun reform bills, the people will not be ignored.  Our lives are on the line, and together we will demand action and vote out those who continue to allow dangerous people to get their hands on guns.

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At Least Four Mass Shootings In A Week, And What Is The Pro-Gun Response? Vigilante Justice, And More Guns, Of Course.

(UPDATED -- See below)

The daily carnage from gun violence in America is absolutely heartbreaking to me.

Yet another mass shooting.

As I sit down to write this, I overhear on CNN that there had been yet another mass shooting.  This time it was in Lafayette, Louisiana, where a man stood up in a crowded movie theater and opened fire, killing 2 innocent people, injuring at least ten others, and then killing himself.  Details are still emerging, but the shooter is described as a "drifter" with a previous arson conviction and severe mental health problems and far-right, anti-government views.  How does a nutcase get guns like this?  Another day in America.

It was only 6 days ago that another movie-shooter, James Holmes, was ruled "Guilty" for the shooting in the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, killing 12 and injuring 70.  Did today's lunatic NRA supporter of the day fancy himself as notorious as Holmes?

And yesterday, in Georgia, there was also a murder/suicide shooting at a home, claiming five lives.

Mass shooting victims Jacob and Jared Smith (source)

  Two of the victims were young boys, ages 8 and 9, Jacob and Jared Smith.  The father shot his wife, her father, the two sons, and then himself.  I'll bet you didn't hear about that one, either. Shootings like this are "wallpaper" in our nation, so common that it's immediately forgettable by many.

In the past week there have been at least two other mass shootings that I'm aware of (I was helping my Mom move last week, so it's possible I missed others).  One was in Maine, where a convicted sex offender shot five people and then went on the run before getting caught.  Two of the victims died.  That mass shooting hardly made national news; we have so many shootings in our nation that you probably didn't notice it.  Remember the shooting at a church in Charleston just last month?  It has already fallen from the national consciousness.  Chances are you've already forgotten the names of the shooter and victims.

The other mass shooting today made all the national papers.  Another mentally ill young man, of Jordanian descent, armed with an AK-47 automatic assault rifle, shotgun, and handgun, opened fire on a military recruiter office in Chattanooga, Tennessee, firing at the door from his car.  Luckily no one was injured.  He then drove to a Marine and Navy reserve station, rammed through a gate with his car, and opened fire again.  Police responded.  There was a shootout.

When the bullets stopped flying, four Marines lay dead, a police officer was wounded, and a Navy sailor was critically injured.  The shooter was killed.  The Navy sailor later died from his injuries.

The dead military members were identified as Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells, of Cobb, Georgia; Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, of Hampden, Massachusetts; Sgt. Carson Holmquist, of Polk, Wisconsin, and Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, of Burke, North Carolina; and Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Randall Smith.

Some of these Marines and Sailors were veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Some were decorated, including one who had two Purple Heart medals.  It's a sad statement that they should survive tours of duty in a foreign war zone only to be shot to death here in America by a deranged citizen.

As always, statements were made by the politicians, including our President, by families of the victims, by gun violence prevention organizations, and even by the family of the shooter.  Prayers were made.  A "hero fund" was established.  Flowers were placed.  A city mourned.  Flags were ordered to half-staff.  And the victims were memorialized and buried.  But as sentimental and valid as these actions are, NONE of these actions will do anything to keep guns out of the hands of the next deranged killer.

The gun guys had their own ideas of solutions though.  Naturally, those solutions have nothing to do whatsoever with keeping guns out of the wrong hands.  Their solutions:  be vigilantes, and more guns!

It's like a broken record.  They cry that everyone should be armed, like them. The NRA led the way, calling for the military to allow recruiters to arm themselves.

"It's outrageous that members of our armed services have lost their lives because the government has forced them to be disarmed in the workplace," said Chris Cox, the leader of the NRA's legislative and political shop.

Pro-gun politicians soon chimed in.  But they seem to forget that the Department of Defense itself, in charge of our military, made a policy against this back in 2011, In DoD Directive 5210.56.  In their expert opinion, it isn't reasonable to arm all servicemen in all places.  We aren't in a state of war within our borders, and we don't have enemies at our gates.  One Army recruiter has some sage advice:

Scott Rogers, who worked as a US Army recruiter in Wisconsin from 2008 to 2011, has a different take on the subject.

“Soldiers are the best at what they do, but not all are trained to handle weapons on a daily basis,” Rogers said.

“What many people fail to realize that not all soldiers are combat soldiers. In fact I would venture to say a majority of them are not,” Rogers said.

“What many people fail to realize is that unless you are in a combat arms occupational specialty…you only qualify with your weapon once a year and for many soldiers they do not even do that. I retired in 2012 and had not fired a M-16 since 2007 because of my time as a recruiter.”

Perhaps, too, the DoD was concerned about the vets themselves, given the staggering rate of veteran suicides.  22 U.S. military vets commit suicide a day.  70% are by gun, and 85% of attempts are fatal (compared to only 5% by other means).

But for all those gun guys shouting that the military members should have been armed... Surprise!  Two of them were armed and shot back at the shooter. 

A Navy officer and a Marine fired their sidearms hoping to kill or subdue the gunman who murdered five service members last week in Chattanooga, Tennessee, according to multiple military officials familiar with internal reporting on the tragedy.

But call for arming the recruiters wasn't enough for some pro-gun extremists and "militia" members.  They decided to become vigilantes and "stand guard" in front of recruiter stations with openly-carried rifles, in various locations across the U.S.

There was one here today, in my home town of Eugene.  An old man who looks to be about 90,

Vigilante "guard" at Eugene military recruiter station

wielding an AK-47 with dual magazines and sporting a super-cool set of eye-dilation sunglasses. There is also a news report that the extremist III% militia group (which the article calls a "club") had armed members standing outside a recruiting station in Portland.

Others in many other states were doing the same, responding to the call of extremist, insurrectionist militia groups like the Oathkeepers and the Three Percenters.  They don't care that the recruiters want them to leave.  Nor do they care that they are scaring people.  From an article:

“I can’t see why any red-blooded American wouldn’t want to be out here,” Fitzpatrick, a member of a local militia, told the paper. “Our troops go overseas and fight to protect us and then they can come home and get butchered on our U.S. soil? That’s unacceptable. So until these places get their own protection, I’ll be it for them.”

Well, I'm a red-blooded American, and I can say that I can see plenty of reasons for him to go back to fondling his guns in his own home.

For one thing, having a yahoo like him, with unknown background, motives, or training hanging out with his finger next to the trigger of an assault rifle represents to me an accident waiting to happen, at best, or an outright mass murderer in the making, at the worst.

The military itself thinks the same as me.  The Army sent a notice to its recruiters telling them to treat these "guards" as a security threat.

Recruiting center and hole left by gun extremist (source)

And then it happened.  Today, one of these armed "guards," named Christopher Reed, was standing outside a recruiter station in Ohio, assault rifle in hand, when he unintentionally fired the weapon.  Oopsie!  Perhaps this is the "security threat" that the Army was talking about?  Luckily, the round he fired only hit the asphalt, leaving a distinct hole, and no one was injured -- this time.  Don't worry, gun guys, it's only a misdemeanor.  His gun was only taken away temporarily.  In a few weeks he'll be free to have more accidents with it, thanks to our loose gun laws.

Doubt me? Well, surprise!, this isn't the first time he's had an accident with his gun!  From an article:

Reed was convicted of the same offense in 2013, and was fined $50, court records show.

That's right, he was only fined $50.  A slap on the wrist.  Naturally, this self-described unemployed "gun enthusiast" downplays this most recent endangerment of the public, as if it were no big deal at all:

Reed said he is not a military veteran. He described himself as an active gun enthusiast who makes a living working side jobs.

He downplayed what happened. “It is what it is,” he said. “Nobody got hurt.”

This time...

Well, "it is what it is" all right.  What "it is" is a nation with incredibly lax gun laws and too many guns in dangerous hands... like those of Christopher Reed.

Just moments ago, an hour after sundown as I finished this blog post, I heard a series of gunshots ring out within just a few miles of my home.  Let's hope it isn't yet another shooting.  What has our nation come to?  Even if vigilantism were the answer, the gun guys can't stand vigil at every home, every movie theater, every school and military recruiter.  More guns is not the answer.  Our leaders need to do something, and do it now, to keep guns out of the wrong hands!


UPDATE (7/24/15):  The Marine Corps and the Department of Defense have also issued a statement saying that they do not support armed individuals "guarding" recruiters, and the Navy put out a statement that if any armed yahoos show up outside, their recruiters will leave the office for other duties until those people leave.  How many ways can they say "Go away!" to these gun loons?

Also, HERE is more on the Lafayette shooter, John Russell Houser, 59, and his long history of radical, far-right extremism, mental illness, and threatening and criminal behavior.  HERE is additional information on his unstable, far-right views, including his admiration of Hitler and the KKK, his Obama-hatred, and his belief that America is "the enemy of the world."

UPDATE (7/28/15):  We are averaging one mass shooting EVERY DAY in 2015!!  From an article:

The Mass Shootings Tracker, a crowd-sourced tally of mass shootings maintained by the GunsAreCool subreddit, shows that we haven't gone more than eight days without a mass shooting in the U.S. since the start of 2015 -- that doesn't leave a lot of time to grieve and regroup between shootings. We've averaged exactly one mass shooting per day since the start of the year. Forty eight days saw more than one mass shooting take place. On 18 days there were at least 3 shootings. On three days this year -- April 18, June 13 and July 15 -- there have been five shootings.

Addendum (9/1/15):  HERE is another article pointing out that we average a mass shooting every day in America..

PTSD and the Mason Case

Let's say there's a man who had been professionally trained by the military to kill with firearms.  He has suffered for 3-4 years with such a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that he could hardly sleep, suffered from flashbacks, couldn't hold a job, and had severe stomach problems, throwing up daily.  Years of therapy with the VA had failed to help him.  He has become so emotionally unstable that fireworks spook him, driving terrifies him, and other loud, unexpected noises like a shattered drinking glass cause him to explode. 

Do you think this man should possess a gun? 

Do you think allowing him to possess a gun might be unacceptably dangerous to him and those around him?  

Consider the case of Michael Thomas Mason, age 27.  On December 15, 2010, he was at the mall here in Eugene when he had a severe PTSD psychotic break.  He randomly fired into a busy parking lot with his 9mm handgun, striking several cars.  Luckily, no one was injured.  He then drove off, driving recklessly in his SUV.  Police soon tracked him down and gave chase, ending up in the nearby town of Santa Clara.  Two police officers convinced Mason to drop his gun out his window, but Mason didn't respond to other commands, and was moving erratically in his vehicle.  When the two officers thought (mistakenly) that Mason was reaching for another weapon, they fired three times.  Two shots hit Mason.  He survived, but one of the bullets hit his spinal cord, paralyzing him.  Mason is now a quadriplegic and is wheelchair-bound. 

(On a related side note, this wasn't a first for either officer:  Officer Marcus Pope had shot and injured a murder suspect in November 2008 who had attacked him with knives, and the other officer, Bill Solesbee, had been one of nine SWAT members who shot and killed another attacker in Creswell in January 2003.  All of these shootings were considered justified.)

Last weekend there was a two-and-a-half page feature on Mason in the local newspaper, complete with color photos.  It was a very good article about the man -- a biography -- entitled "For the Love of a Soldier."   The article went into detail about how he had been an Eagle Scout and sheriff's cadet, how he has always had a very close relationship with his family, how he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps as a Eugene city policeman, and how, after 9/11, he enlisted with the army and served in Afghanistan.  He is an honest man with a history of citizenship, devotion to country and family, and is an honest-to-god war hero.

This is a man who, from an early age, had been taught firearms safety and usage, who has used good judgment, and was professionally trained by the military.

But even honest men with lots and lots of training can't see the danger that having firearms around can bring, particularly with mental illness.

You see, Michael Thomas Mason had suffered in Afghanistan.  He was in many live-fire situations.  And in one particularly horrible event, he watched as his army buddies were blown up by an IED.  Mason was tasked with collecting what was left of them.

After his tour of duty ended, Mason returned to Eugene, hoping to follow in his father's footsteps and become a police officer, but he was turned down.  He suffered from PTSD.  He sought therapy from the VA.  Loud, unexpected noises sent him spirally out of control.  He couldn't work.  He was physically sick.  He was depressed.  In fact, he IS the theoretical person I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

And then the shooting events of last December happened.

That two-and-a-half page article did a lot to show how horrible the effects of PTSD are to our veterans, and illustrated quite nicely how Mason suffered and how he had been such a great young man.  Only a few paragraphs on the third page actually mentioned the shooting. 

But nowhere, in that article or any of the others, was the most obvious question asked:  

 If Mason was so emotionally unstable, why was he allowed to have a gun?

His VA therapist knew he was fragile and potentially violent.  His wife knew it.  His friends and family knew it.  HE knew it.  But at no point, apparently, did anyone stop to ask Mason if he would be willing to give up his firearm.  And, apparently, he was not forbidden to purchase a firearm.  He is a poster-child for strengthening  the mental health reporting of the NICS background check system.

PTSD is nothing new to our veterans, by any stretch.  Of course people who witness and take part in wartime killing come back emotionally scarred.  Wouldn't you? 

The problem is that the military isn't dealing with PTSD  effectively enough. 

PTSD has been linked to many homicides.  It is hard to find those links, since homicides are generally dealt with by local jurisdictions, not the military, unless it is on military property, and the link to PTSD isn't always reported on.  No federal department, including the military, keeps track of it, that I can find.  If anything, they seem to downplay PTSD links to homicides, in an effort to diffuse the "crazy returning veteran" stigma.  But refusing to acknowledge a problem doesn't make it go away!

One investigation by the New York Times in 2008 studied homicides by veterans between 2001 and 2008:

This showed an 89 percent increase [of homicides by veterans] during the present wartime period, to 349 cases from 184, about three-quarters of which involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans. The increase occurred even though there have been fewer troops stationed in the United States in the last six years and the American homicide rate has been, on average, lower.

[M]ilitary health care officials are seeing a spectrum of psychological issues, with an estimated half of the returning National Guard members, 38 percent of soldiers and 31 percent of marines reporting mental health problems, according to a Pentagon task force.

Decades of studies on the problems of Vietnam veterans have established links between combat trauma and higher rates of unemployment, homelessness, gun ownership, child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse — and criminality. On a less scientific level, such links have long been known.

The National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study, considered the most thorough analysis of this population, found that 15 percent of the male veterans still suffered from full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder more than a decade after the war ended. Half of the veterans with active PTSD had been arrested or in jail at least once, and 34.2 percent more than once. Some 11.5 percent of them had been convicted of felonies, and veterans are more likely to have committed violent crimes than nonveterans, according to government studies. In the mid-1980s, with so many Vietnam veterans behind bars that Vietnam Veterans of America created chapters in prisons, veterans made up a fifth of the nation’s inmate population.

As Iraq and Afghanistan veterans get enmeshed in the criminal justice system, former advocates for Vietnam veterans are disheartened by what they see as history repeating itself.

But it isn't just homicide.  Suicide is another major issue that is linked to PTSD and, more often than not, firearms.

From THIS article from the Wall Street Journal:

A 15-month-study on the rise in suicides over the last two years found 160 suicides among active-duty personnel, 1,713 suicide attempts and 146 deaths from high-risk behavior, such as drug abuse, in the year ended Sept. 30, 2009.

The number of suicides has been climbing since 2005 when there were 87 confirmed and unconfirmed suicides.

The current numbers are the highest since the Army began tracking the issue in the 1980s. Veterans groups say it's hard to make comparisons to the Vietnam era because of changes in how the data are tracked. Military suicide rates also tend to increase during wartime.

Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice-chief of staff of the Army who has led the effort to reduce suicides, said that 79% of suicides were soldiers who had one deployment or had yet to be deployed.

There's a graph on that page which shows a meteoric rise in suicides by servicemen, which I have reposted here.

Another article by TIME magazine has shows similar numbers.  From that article:

"Combat increases fearlessness about death and the capability for suicide," said Craig Bryan, a University of Texas psychologist, briefing Pentagon officials in January. The combination of combat exposure and ready access to guns can be lethal to anyone contemplating suicide. About half of soldiers who kill themselves use weapons, and the figure rises to 93% among those deployed in war zones.

In a Huffington Post article on the subject, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki commented that of the more than 30,000 suicides each year in America, about 20 percent are committed by veterans

The effects of PTSD are horrible, leading to substance abuse, domestic violence, depression, and potentially suicide, homicide, and psychotic breaks.  Can the veterans be blamed for their destructive actions?  Not really.  We as a country have to do a better job at treatment and prevention.

So I don't blame Michael Thomas Mason for shooting up a parking lot and having behavior that led to him becoming a quadriplegic.  It's tragic.

But this shooting didn't have to happen.  Nor do most of the PTSD-related homicides and suicides.

Here's what we can do to limit the homicides and suicides, which typically involve firearms.  First, the veterans, their families, and their therapists must insist that the veteran remove all weapons from his possession.  Second, if he has severe PTSD reactions, to the point that he has to seek therapy and may have a psychotic break, or if he has expressed violent or self-destructive behavior, he should be listed as mentally unfit for gun ownership and purchase with the NICS background checking system.  Finally, cases of PTSD-related crimes should be reported on, highlighting the dangers of PTSD and gun ownership.  Awareness and education is key in treating and understanding this issue.

Let's work together to prevent another Michael Thomas Mason shooting event, and create a new trajectory for our communities.

UPDATE (1/28/13):  Today it was announced that Michael Mason has, after just over two years of suffering in paralysis, has died from his wound, while at the VA hospital.  HERE is a good write-up about his death and the severity of his PTSD.