Only in America

Soon after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley shot and killed four of his Michigan schoolmates, I was struck by this haunting observation from the columnist Eugene Robinson:

“Only in America,” Robinson wrote, “do we make it easier for youths to get their hands on a handgun or assault rifle than to work up the courage to ask a classmate out on a date.”

Remember your own high school days as you read those words and then picture the high school sophomore and his father visiting a gun dealer the day after Thanksgiving to pick out his early Christmas present from dad and mom — a 9mm SIG Sauer semiautomatic handgun.

And then, there’s Ethan’s mother proudly posting a photo of her and the boy on a shooting range, “testing out his new Christmas present.”

It’s not exactly only in America.  Kids do get their hands on guns in other places in the allegedly civilized world but when it happens, the nations often act quickly to see that it doesn’t happen again.  In America, we get angry and upset for a while and then forget about it.  There were school shootings 27 times this year until Oxford made it 28. Even with schools sometimes closed by COVID.

It wasn’t always that way.  There once was once a 10- year ban on the manufacture or sale of semi-automatic weapons and magazines that held 10 or more rounds.  It was passed by Congress in 1994, but with a sunset provision that allowed the ban to expire in 10 years unless Congress renewed it.   The ban expired in 2004 and when Congress tried to pass it again after the Newtown massacre in 2012 and the Parkland, FL high school shootings in 2018, it failed both times.

In the 2020 election campaign, candidate Donald Trump fervently supported the right to keep and bear all kinds of arms without regard for the consequences and Joe Biden, who supported the 1994 ban as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, feared there was “no political appetite” for reviving the 1994 law, despite public opinion polls to the contrary. Oxford should be on both of their consciences.

A study by the Northwestern University School of Medicine found that the 10-year ban may have prevented 11 mass shootings — shootings like Parkland and Newtown, and Oxford.

But the NRA, with its considerable influence, argued that school shootings only account for 1% of the gun deaths in America — a few dead kids as the price for the precious Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms that was written when arms were muskets.

Only in America?  Consider this.

In 2019, America’s rate of deaths by gun violence was eight times higher than Canada’s and almost 100 times higher than the United Kingdom’s.

Right after 16 children and a teacher were killed in a mass shooting in a Dunblane, Scotland school in 1996, Scotland banned the private ownership of handguns and assault weapons.  There’s been only one mass shooting in Scotland since.

The same year, Australia had an even more horrible tragedy — a mass shooting that left 35 people dead. The government banned automatic and semi-automatic weapons and pump action shotguns.  It also bought back 640,000 guns and there hasn’t been a mass shooting since.

Australia had had 18 mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of people of all ages, in the 13 years prior to 1996.  We’ve had 28 shootings — just of school children and some teachers — so far in 2021. People in Scotland and Australia still have the right to keep and bear arms, just not the ones that kill so easily.

What’s wrong with us?

 

Simsbury resident Dick Ahles is a retired journalist. Email him at rahles1@outlook.com.

The views expressed here are not necessarily those of The Lakeville Journal and The Journal does not support or oppose candidates for public office.

Latest News

Senator Murphy starts statewide walk in Northwest Corner

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy walks through Sharon on the first day of his annual statewide walk.

Photo by Ruth Epstein

Decked out in a blue T-shirt, khaki shorts and a UConn cap, the man walking along Route 41 in Sharon Wednesday morning looked like others who just enjoy getting out to commune with nature. But U. S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D) had some other thoughts on his mind.

For the ninth year, he was walking across Connecticut to connect with citizens of the state. This year’s route began May 28 in Salisbury and took him to Sharon and Kent for the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Marion J. Pedersen

SHARON — Marion J. (Cookingham) Pedersen of Sharon, passed peacefully on May 20, 2025, at the age of 91.

Born in Pine Plains, New York, she lived a life of love and unwavering strength. She was a devoted mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and wife known for her cooking skills.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eleanor Sternlof

LIME ROCK — Eleanor Anne Sternlof (née de Guise) of White Hollow Road passed away on April 25, 2025 at Geer Village in North Canaan, Connecticut. She was 94 and the loving wife of the late Paul William Sternlof, who died on August 12, 2005.

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, May 31, from 11am to 1pm at The Kenny Funeral Home, 41 Main Street, Sharon, CT.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jacqueline Irene Dirck

SHARON — Jacqueline Irene Dirck, affectionately known as Jackie, passed away peacefully on May 20, 2025, in Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of 84. Born on Nov. 19, 1940, in Joplin, Missouri, Jackie lived a life filled with warmth, laughter, and deep devotion to those she loved.

Jackie shared an extraordinary 62-year marriage with her high school sweetheart and beloved husband, Ronald Dirck. Their enduring partnership was a shining example of lifelong love and unwavering support. Together they created a home that radiated joy, a gathering place for family celebrations marked by spirited card games, hearty meals, and heartfelt conversations. Jackie especially treasured quiet afternoons spent with a cocktail in hand, embracing life’s simple pleasures with grace and good cheer.

Keep ReadingShow less