10 years after Columbine, raise voices against gun violence

IN 1988 and again in 1997, Britain introduced strict gun-control laws in response to a mass shooting. Last year, there were 42 gun deaths in Britain, a country of 61 million people. There were more than 30,000 gun deaths in the United States, which has a population of 300 million people, during the same period. The United States had more than 140 times as many gun deaths per capita. Looked at another way, Britain has almost 10 times the population of Washington state, yet it had almost three times the number of gun deaths.

Ten years ago April 20, two disturbed students took a total of 15 lives at Columbine High and injured 23 others in the deadliest high-school shooting in our nation's history. In the 10 years since Columbine, more people have died from gun violence than soldiers killed in World War II. Yet our gun laws — through the expiration of the assault-weapons ban and the erosion of tracing capacity under the Tiahrt Amendments — have become weaker, not stronger. When Attorney General Eric Holder called recently for a renewed ban he immediately met the resistance of 56 house Democrats.

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees a right to own a gun but, as the U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled, it does not bar the government from enacting sensible gun policies to protect our communities. Data shows the states with the most comprehensive gun-safety laws have just one-fourth the level of gun violence as those states with the least comprehensive laws. Background-check reform and a renewal of the assault-weapons ban would go a long way toward keeping our communities safer by helping curb access to firearms by our youth, individuals at risk of suicide and criminals.

Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, we have dramatically altered our ability to travel freely and spent billions to protect us from international threats. Every month, we lose almost as many lives to gun violence in this country than those who died in 9/11.

Yet our nation has done virtually nothing to directly fund research and programs directed specifically at reducing gun violence within our own borders. Research has shown that a gun in the home increases the risk of a completed suicide by five times. And an individual who owns a gun for personal protection is 22 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than stop an intruder — a statistic we saw come to life recently at Fort Lewis when a wife accidentally shot her husband. Our government can also do more by funding further research on gun-violence prevention and on programs designed to educate people about the risks and responsibilities of gun ownership.

Did the students at Columbine and at the hundreds of school shootings since then, including the Virginia Tech tragedy two years ago, die in vain? Sadly, the answer up to now appears to be a resounding yes.

Despite strong citizen support (80 percent as measured by two independent surveys conducted by Washington CeaseFire) for common-sense gun laws, such as requiring background checks on all gun sales or banning military assault weapons, we have yet to see significant progress.

It took some 20 years for this country to develop tough new laws on drunken driving, which has now resulted in alcohol-related auto deaths being cut in half.

The same results are very possible with gun violence. We need to raise our voices to match the other side. We need to let our legislators know the true will of the people. We need to ensure the students at Columbine did not die in vain.

Ralph Fascitelli is president of Washington CeaseFire.