A Rare Opening On Guns?

Did last weekend’s massacres in El Paso and Dayton produce a rare opening for compromise and action in America’s quest to tame gun violence?

Or is a ritual merely playing itself out again?: Mass shooting. Hand-wringing. Promises of action. Return to the barricades. Repeat.

We explored that question Wednesday on WNHH FM’s ​“Dateline New Haven.” (Click on the above video to watch the full episode.)

We played the above video of Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, days before the two massacres, describing the gridlock preventing any action in Washington.

We also played the above video of Republican Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio addressing the nation after a gunman fired into a Dayton nightclub and killed nine people with a modified rifle with a magazine that can hold up to 100 rounds; and hours after a different gun mowed down 22 people at an El Paso Walmart with a modified semi-automatic Kalashnikov-style rifle. DeWine proposed a series of gun-control measures that more often come from Democrats, include a ​“red flag” law — allowing for temporary confiscation of firearms from people deemed a danger to themselves or others — similar to one Connecticut enacted in 1999.

With an agreement to avoid mentioning the words ​“Trump” or ​“Obama,” WNHH station manager Harry Droz — a gun-rights advocate and skeptic of gun-control laws — and I, a gun-control proponent, explored whether this moment might differ from the post-Parkland, post-Newtown, post-San Bernandino etc. moments. Might there be enough of a consensus to pass not just state and federal laws that most Americans (including Harry and I) can agree on, such as the ​“red flag” proposal, universal background checks, and military assault rifles?

Harry and I agreed that those measures make sense, and that laws alone will not address the full palate of underlying issues that fuel American’s mass-shooting problem. We also agreed that it’s hard to see the federal government actually following through on these steps, at least before the 2020 elections.

Readers weighed in online during the program.

Katriela Medina Knight wrote: ​“I am a gun owner (said guns are currently locked up in my father’s gun safe in Montana where they belong) I grew up hunting. Some family members and I are FORMER NRA members. I speak for rural Americans and ethical sportsmen. No assault weapons should be accessible to the public. Hunters truly believe in gun control.”

Jon P. Stowe responded to discussion of whether the Second Amendment’s protection of militias has anything to do with individuals owning assault rifles or other guns: ​“There are plenty of constitutional scholars who argue that there is ​‘Abundant historical evidence indicates that the Second Amendment was meant to leave citizens with the ability to defend themselves against unlawful violence. Such threats might come from usurpers of governmental power, but they might also come from criminals whom the government is unwilling or unable to control.’”

The program ended with a recording of New Haven attorney and songwriter/musician Steve Mednick performing his composition ​“What Are You Going To Do?” from a CD he released earlier this year full of songs taking on this issue.

Please feel free to add your own thoughts in the comments section below.