The dangerous world of crazed gunmen hit shockingly close to home this week when a young couple loaded with guns and pipe bombs attacked a health center in San Bernardino just 90 miles North of San Diego.
As more details come in about the man and woman who are now described as a county employee and his new wife, the news they were Muslims has drawn stereotypical responses from talking heads and politicians alike. But before we simply chalk it up to radicalized extremists, we must consider the larger context of mass shootings in America and the possible roots of this alarming trend of violence.
The attack in San Bernardino was the 353rd mass shooting in the United States this year, defined as shootings with four or more casualties. That’s an average of more than 1 per day for 2015 alone. These mass shootings were the work of lone gunmen, troubled students, and radical extremists like the couple this week.
Looking deeper into the numbers, the average number of gun deaths in the US over the past 15 years has been over 11,000 per year, or roughly the same as 70 Southwest Airlines planes full of travelers.
The number of deaths connected to terrorism in the US over the same period, however, has averaged 517 per year, but when September 11 deaths are removed, the average deaths per year related to terrorism is only 31.
It’s easy to blame radical Islam or terrorism for random acts of violence but we must remember that before September 11, the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States was the Oklahoma City bombing carried out by a white, American, former Army service member and his radical buddies.
We must also remember that the shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school was the work of a young white American man, and since that attack in December 2012, there have been 161 more shootings at schools by non-Muslims. Before that it was Columbine. And Granite Hills. And Santana High School to name a few.
So what’s at work in America that leads to these senseless crimes? Gun control alone can’t fix the problem because all of these guns were purchased legally by competent adults. Cursory mental health screening would be nearly useless to predict future attacks. And even without guns, most of these killings could have been carried out with other weapons or homemade bombs.
Americans must face the fact that other countries with gun ownership do not have anywhere near the number of shootings we experience. Maybe it’s the history of guns in America from the first settlers to the cowboys expanding into the West. Maybe it’s the glorification of guns in movies and games. Or the wartime footing we have experienced nearly non-stop since WWII in the 40s, Korea in the 50s, Vietnam in the 60s, the Cold War in the 70s and 80s, the Gulf Wars in the 90s, and the War on Terror since 2001.
All children currently in school through 10th grade were born while we have been at war. Everyday, the news coverage we watch includes images of military operations, drone bombings, and a debate about boots on the ground in the Middle East. We have become a society at war with no end in sight yet we are shocked when someone resorts to violence at home.
International terrorism may never end because it’s rooted in religious beliefs and historical territory disputes but senseless violence at schools, movie theatres, and workplaces must be addressed.
If 70 commercial airliners crashed each year we would stop flying. We would demand action to curb the deaths. But that’s exactly how many Americans are lost each year to gun violence yet we ignore it. We dismiss it. We shouldn’t.
This is a conversation that must be had at home, at school, at work, and in places of worship and we must also elevate the political debate to real solutions, not left and right fighting. Enough media hype of “guns vs no guns” and let’s talk about real solutions. Lives are at stake everyday we delay action. And more killings will happen unless we act.
In the time it took to read this piece, 3 more people were killed by guns. Enough already.