Speaking for mothers everywhere, the one thing we want above everything else is for our children to grow up. It’s a big bonus if they’re happy and productive members of society, but the instinctual, primal drive to ensure the survival of our babies is what propels us to do all we can to keep them safe.
So, we’re concerned that our kids appear to be struggling.
Gen Z — those born between the mid 1990s and 2010s, like my son — seem to have a lot on their minds. There’s been much written about how depressed they are, and while fingers point to social media as driving Gen Z’s anxiety and stress, I offer another theory: Gen Z is the first generation to grow up knowing that in America, at any moment — in even the once-safest and most-sacred places — there is no hiding from an angry man with a gun. Our kids go to school trained to anticipate that someone with a gun will be hunting them down at any time, and that makes them angry and angsty because they realize that those tasked with keeping them safe don’t value them enough to do much about it. In short, the adults in power don’t give a shit.
Consider “Stress in America: Generation Z,” a report of the American Psychological Association, which found that 75% of Gen Zs reported the specter of mass shootings as a significant source of stress, and 73% worried about the possibility of a school shooting.
That report was done 5 years ago. Since then, there have been 163 more school shootings with 112 people killed and 294 people injured. Two of those shootings happened in counties book-ending Livingston: On Nov. 30, 2021, 4 students were killed and 7 injured at Oxford High School to our east; and on Feb. 13, 2023, 3 students were killed and 5 others injured — including Hartland High School grad Nate Statly — on the Michigan State University campus to our west.
And what’s changed?
• Our leaders have declared Livingston a 2A Sanctuary County. (You can read about that here.)
• Sheriff Mike Murphy says he won’t enforce red flag laws because he thinks they’re unconstitutional. (Read about that here.)
• State Sen. Lana Theis sponsored legislation to repeal concealed pistol permitting and eliminate “safe zones.” (Click here.)
• A few weeks ago, state Rep. Ann Bollin appeared at Molly Pitcher’s Cafe — a combo gun shop/bar in New Hudson — to talk about current legislation focusing on the Second Amendment.
• Attorney and local GOP mover-and-shaker Kristina Lyke spoke about the “pending legislative attacks on the 2nd Amendment” at a Livingston GOP/2A Patriot event.
• And we’ve got 2A Day, sponsored by 2A Patriot on May 20, where there will be gun-loving speakers, gun demonstrations, gun sales, and something being promoted as “kids shooting.” (I have to wonder who edited that!)
I wrote last week that our legislators just may be out of touch with the people they represent.
These are interesting numbers from a GlenGariff poll done in March, just two weeks after the shooting at MSU. Consider these takeaways from the polling on bipartisan support for gun safety legislation among Michigan voters:
• 87.8% support background checks
• 79.8% support safe storage law
• 74.5% support a red flag law
• 74.5% support a 14-day waiting period
• 61.7% support raising to 21 the age to purchase a firearm
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79.2% support forfeiture of gun possession or ownership for anyone convicted of a gun-related crime
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64.6% support any person convicted of a domestic violence crime from ever owning or possessing a gun
• 55.1% support a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons
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71.9% oppose making Michigan a Constitutional Carry state
Even more interesting is the Fox News national poll done just after that, which concluded:
• 87% support background checks for guns
• 81% support enforcing existing gun laws
• 81% support raising the legal age to buy a gun to 21
• 80% support requiring mental health checks on gun buyers
• 80% support red flag laws for those considered a danger to themselves or others
• 77% support requiring a 30-day waiting period for the purchase of firearms
• 61% support a ban on assault rifles
Trust me when I say that moms don’t want to take guns away. Heck, moms own guns. That said, moms want anyone who owns a gun to be safety-minded, conscientious and of sound physical and mental health, and moms want our leaders to help ensure that. And most moms want the laws on the books enforced.
And as to the whataboutism that “guns don’t kill people; people kill people,” and the likening of guns to automobiles in that it’s not the vehicle but the person behind the wheel responsible for mowing down pedestrians, well, we’ll take that if it means we will start to treat guns like cars.
Engineers have over the years made cars safer with things like airbags and special seats for children. Laws have been passed requiring insurance on every person who drives a vehicle. No one can buy a car and start driving without jumping through some hoops: Mandatory driver’s training teaches the rules of the road. Graduated licensing with regular renewal helps ensure that beginners have enough practice behind the wheel before being let loose on the road, and that those who shouldn’t be driving don’t. We can own lots of different kinds of vehicles, but there aren’t a lot of armored tanks parked in suburban driveways because who needs all that to get to work and back?
So, YES! Let’s treat guns like cars, because most of all, on this Mother’s Day and all others, we want to see our kids grow up safely.
