Real American Liberal
Reactions to mass shootings in the United States have followed a depressing pattern in recent years. People become outraged when a member of Congress is shot in the head, or when twenty-nine people are killed in a Colorado movie theater. But gun advocates always manage to silence the discussion. "It would disrespect the victims to politicize this tragedy," they say with mock sincerity, failing to note that not discussing gun-safety reforms politicizes the tragedy to their advantage.
Within weeks, outrage morphs into fascination with celebrity drug relapses or the next "storm of the century." Then gun-related tragedy strikes again, and the pattern recycles.
But the December Newtown school children shooting has been different. Outrage hasn't given way to short attention spans. A National Rifle Association spokesperson callously said gun-rights advocates should wait for the "Connecticut effect" to dissolve. But it hasn't. Our outrage has turned us around to the obvious fact that our laws aren't helping to prevent these tragedies. Americans are now strongly in favor of common-sense gun-safety reforms.
