Irish disgusted by US gun culture that facilitates Newtown massacre -- as an Irish American I don’t blame them
By: Larry Donnelly | Published Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 7:30 AM | Updated Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 7:30 AM
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| A vigil for the 26 murdered in Newtown last week |
Like everyone else, I was horrified last Friday by the news of the terrible tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut. This, the latest in a seemingly endless list of mass gun killings in the US, is made all the more painful by the facts that it took place in the supposedly safe environs of a school and that so many of the victims were young children. I have never seen President Obama as emotional – or, indeed, as human and frail – as he was at the White House press conference afterward. There is no doubt but that he was thinking of his own children. All of us who are parents, no matter where we are in the world, had the very same thought run through our minds.
It is strange to be an American living in Ireland (or anywhere else around the globe, for that matter) when tragic events take place in the US. The media communication of and public reaction to what happened in Newtown and what’s happened in too many other American cities and towns in recent years, however, are distinguishable from
the aftermath of what took place on 9/11 or in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina struck or in New York when Storm Sandy recently wreaked havoc.
Coverage of and discussions about the latter events were infused with heartfelt empathy and solidarity. But the coverage and discussions I’ve been privy to over the past few days are not. Instead, the hallmarks of the Irish consideration of what took place last Friday are weariness with and palpable anger about what allows massacres like the one in Newtown to happen. And like it or not, that is the gun culture that permeates the US. Irish people cannot understand why or how anyone can lawfully possess or easily gain access to the type of high-powered weaponry used to slaughter innocent children and their teachers last Friday.
Irish people took to social media, especially to Twitter, as well as to traditional news outlets, to vent their dismay and sorrow about what occurred. For so many of them, the gun culture is the one thing they just can’t accept about a country they love so much. Those whose exasperated sentiments follow are just a few of them.
On Twitter, Fianna Fáil party leader Micheál Martin writes, “Looking at the absolute horror in Newtown, CT, it continues to baffle and frustrate me how anyone can argue against greater gun control in US.” Rosita Boland, an Irish Times journalist, writes that “Obama can’t go a third time for office. The true legacy for him is tackling gun control. I guess harder even than health.” And Irish Examiner columnist Colette Browne adds with no small amount of understandable cynicism: “The most offensive thing many conservatives will find about this latest mass shooting is any subsequent debate about gun control.”
Perhaps most compelling and poignant of all the reactions to the massacre in Newtown came from someone who knows the town and the Sandy Hook Elementary School intimately. Siobhán Brett, a Sunday Business Post reporter, actually used to live in Newtown and attended the school herself. She recalls the long commute to Manhattan that her father endured because of the peace that her family and many others found in the small Connecticut town. For her, and for everyone with any connection to Newtown, that peace is no more. My thoughts and prayers are with them.
While the families and friends of those affected by what happened have a long and torturous grieving process ahead, what, if anything, will result from Newtown? Will this be just another horrendous massacre that makes people sad, then angry, yet is ultimately forgotten? Will there be any re-examination of the gun culture in the US and the incredibly liberal legal regime that allows high-powered weapons to be owned, carried and concealed with minimal restrictions in many states? Will anyone stand up to the National Rifle Association? Indeed, the NRA is so powerful that President Obama studiously avoided the issue of gun control – the third rail of American politics – in his successful re-election campaign.
Although I am an inveterate and hardened cynic about politics, I am cautiously optimistic that Newtown may be the first straw of many straws that will be necessary to break the camel’s back on the issue of gun control in the US. I say this primarily because of the reaction of pro-gun politicians over the past few days. Specifically, Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from gun-friendly West Virginia, says that “[T]his has changed the dialogue…everything should be on the table…I don’t know anybody in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle.” Past tragedies notwithstanding, this marks the first occasion on which I have heard the recently re-elected Senator Manchin, who I have long had great respect for, dare to challenge the gun lobby. And I suspect he is not alone.
No one would suggest that the US could, would or even should adopt the type of strict gun control laws that prevail in Ireland, the UK and in much of continental Europe. But there is no justification for allowing largely unfettered access to weaponry that no sportsman needs to hunt and no homeowner needs to defend his family. I’m a lawyer and I refuse to accept the school of thought which asserts that a ban on high-powered weapons violates the right to bear arms contained in the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution.
I believe that many Americans agree with me. I believe a lot more will gravitate toward this line of thinking after Newtown. I think some politicians will follow. And I think stricter, more rational gun laws may ultimately result. My only regret is that history will show that it took the slaughter of 20 innocent children and 6 of their teachers to get the US to this point – if we really have gotten to it. In the meantime, I can’t and won’t blame Irish people for heaping scorn on the country of my birth for its sickening gun culture.
13 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.Eireannach | Feb 18, 2013, 10:14 AM EST
It should be made harder for people to get guns, but I wouldn't advocate banning them. Personally I would feel happier if Irish and British police were armed as they are in most countries. People cannot count on police to protect them, and quickly!
Joe Glackin | Feb 03, 2013, 11:05 PM EST
All the way Towngate. Exactly correct as your comment,In the 1916 Proclamation... Ireland asserted her right to Nation "...IN ARMS". (and German ones at that!) The US will ignore Irish condemnation on the basis that a Tail of 4.5 million Irish people will not understand or manage to wag the 'Dog' of 600 million Americans - all heavily armed,as of Right, remember! If the NRA allowed gun manufactures to be sued, then the knife , pharmaceuticals etc etc
bonjouryall | Jan 13, 2013, 07:12 PM EST
The Demos are trying to get Obama to ignore the separation of powers in the US Constitution (the power to tax and appropriate by Congress) and the Anti-Deficiency Act (a prohibition against an agency spending money it doesn't have), ostensibly in regard to the next 'fiscal cliff', at the same time they're trying to get rid of guns. This rights took hundreds of years to develop. I suggest this is exactly the situation the second amendment was designed for. To his credit, Obama resisted the temptation to reject this outrageous talk.
Portia_O'Neill | Jan 01, 2013, 07:46 PM EST
It's time to revise the 2nd amendment to square it with the reality of modern times. The lobbying efforts of the NRA - which has prevented victims from suing gun manufacturers - should be recognized as a criminal enterprise.
bobby | Dec 27, 2012, 06:07 PM EST
A SICK SOCIETY YOU LIVE IN.
Towngate | Dec 20, 2012, 04:10 PM EST
BOBBY! ... what happened to the rest of them? Where did they go? They couldn't have all been shot, surely!? ~~~~~~~~~ It might be a sick law by todays standards, but it was the law on which the US was founded! ~~~~~ Lawyer Ed fails to point out in this article that the Citizens bear arms by Right to provide a safeguard against the Government turning its guns on the People! That's the deal! If the citizens are disarmed ~ then so will the Government! When you realise this, you will begin to understand the appalling loss of life caused by American 'foreign policy' and it's guns all over the world.
Padre | Dec 20, 2012, 03:00 PM EST
These "massacres" are occurring in "Gun free" zones. If the teachers had been armed, he wouldn't have killed all those kids. If there had been some concealed carries in that theater in Colorada, same thing. By best estimates there are about 2.5 MILLION crimes a year thwarted by gun owners, circumstances that are rarely mentioned in the media. Another thing not mentioned is that 90% of the shooters at these "massacres" were on psychiatric medications that have been linked to suicides and violence, where's the outrage over that. MEXICO has some of the strongest anti-gun laws in the world, 20,000 people killed with guns there last year. Why? BECAUSE CRIMINALS DON"T CARE ABOUT GUN LAWS! Of course I can understand a fear of guns from a bunch of poofs who let their country be run by Britain anyway.
bobby | Dec 20, 2012, 11:45 AM EST
@Towngate the population of America is 311 million, You say 600 million Americans? The right to own a gun is wrong. The US will have to act to prevent further massacres happening. Its a sick law you have. That has to change.
Towngate | Dec 20, 2012, 09:50 AM EST
In the 1916 Proclamation... Ireland asserted her right to Nation "...IN ARMS". (and German ones at that!) The US will ignore Irish condemnation on the basis that a Tail of 4.5 million Irish people will not understand or manage to wag the 'Dog' of 600 million Americans - all heavily armed,as of Right, remember!
michaelidaho | Dec 19, 2012, 09:26 PM EST
JamieLM, I agree with you 100%. I also do not like simplistic criticisms from Ireland or any other country. This is a very complex issue and it is not simply just a matter of America's "gun culture." Many of the states with the most stringent gun control legislation (e.g. New York and Massachusetts) have much higher murder rates than states with very little gun control (e.g. IDAHO, New Hampshire and Vermont). In fact, Boise, Idaho, has consistently lower murder rates than Cork, Ireland, even though Boise is slightly larger and just about everybody has a gun, while of course in Cork hardly anybody has guns ... except perhaps a few criminals.
jamieLM | Dec 19, 2012, 12:44 PM EST
I'm for a ban on assault rifles and large clips for civilians. There has to be better background checks by ALL who sell guns, too. I grew up on a 1000 acre ranch with livestock. We had guns and were trained to use them to protect our livestock from rabid animals and wild dogs. As responsible gun owners, we always practiced gun safety. We never pointed a gun at any person - ever. Mental health issues and the amount of exposure to violence our children have access to is also part of the problem. I really dislike when the U.S. is compared to other countries. The U.S. is large with distinct regional differences and with citizens from many cultures and backgrounds. Criticisms from Ireland, or any other country, doesn't solve American problems and aren't particularly helpful. Every country has their own problems to solve and should focus on them.
MaxTiger | Dec 19, 2012, 11:31 AM EST
Different countries, different cultures. To find people of one culture who don't understand the other is hardly surprising. I certainly don't feel disgust at American gun culture.
tony whelan | Dec 19, 2012, 09:28 AM EST
you are right larry. In a few days the NRA will be back on the defending there beliefs. They are waiting for the dust to settle they know that american people have very short memories. They will be back fighting as they have never fought before. I don't believe there will be any meaningful gun reform. A lot of talk but nothing will get done,more stale mate out of washington. I know that's hard to believe.