As Virginia Beach proved, Republicans don't care about American lives

Americans aren’t safe. We aren’t safe in our places of worship, our preschools, our high schools, our universities, our workplaces, at concerts, nightclubs, restaurants, at the movies, or in our homes. And you can thank Republicans for that.

Friday’s shooting in Virginia Beach was another horrific mass murder – the 172^{nd t}his year alone. There have been nine more mass shootings since Friday’s massacre. Many of those only made the local news because mass shootings aren’t even national news anymore. That’s how bad it is in America today.

Meanwhile, in New Zealand, one tragic mass shooting is sufficient impetus for that country’s prime minister and her cabinet to make all military-style weapons illegal in the immediate days following. But that will never happen in the US. Republicans have made sure of that.

Having lived on and off outside of the US since I was 17, I have been asked many times how Americans deal with such insecurity and gun violence – violence that happens anywhere, at any time, and can be perpetrated by anyone, even high schoolers. I find it a hard question to answer.

I know that when the shooter is Muslim, we call it terrorism. When the shooter is not Muslim, we label it a mental health issue. I know that nearly all mass shootings are a result of toxic masculinity and limitless access to firearms. But what stands out the most to me is the fact that Republicans don’t seem to care about American lives. Period.

Politicians who have no interest in removing military-style weapons or mass gun stashes from the hands of civilians and yet find it logical to argue for equipping civilian teachers with firearms have no grip on the realities of the gun violence problem, nor do they understand the most basic needs of a severely underfunded US public educational system.

I’ve worked with survivors of domestic violence whose stories rarely make local, let alone national, news. I’ve advocated in court for women who were grateful that they were attacked with a beer bottle to the face, instead of their abuser’s .45 caliber pistol, like Friday’s Virginia Beach shooter had. They were always even more grateful when their abuser didn’t turn on the kids.

Today, we’ve had the wool pulled over our eyes yet again. Between White House trade wars and Trump’s request for AG Barr to investigate his investigators, we haven’t stopped to question why Americans run the risk of being gunned down anywhere and at any time. But these distraction tactics are nothing new. They didn’t start with Trump. The NRA has been controlling the dialogue, and distracting us, for much longer. Republicans have facilitated that messaging.

Our gun laws aren't keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, nor are they keeping certain types of guns out of the civilian population. Our domestic violence laws aren’t keeping guns out of the hands of abusers. Our background checks on guns are clearly failing. And way too few states have red flag laws, where law enforcement or family members can petition for the temporary removal of firearms from people who present a danger to themselves or others.

We need politicians who are going to work to protect American lives, instead of buying the NRA time until we forget about the danger that lurks around the corner. We deserve at least that much.