The Opposing Movement Politics of Mass Shootings

By Eulalie Laschever

Mass shootings like the one at the country music festival in Las Vegas on the night of Sunday, October 1^st, are horrible, gut-wrenching events. The evil of the act and the senseless loss of life stir grief and outrage and hopelessness, not just for these victims of this shooting, but also for other recent, memorable shootings like the ones at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, a showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, and many others. The public response to these shootings has become predictable: voices on the left call for new firearms restrictions, while voices on the right send their thoughts and prayers.

“Activists are on this. Let’s all be on this:” Is Gun Control on the “Gay Agenda?”

“Dear NRA, we made it through Stonewall, AIDS, DADT, and through Marriage Equality. You’re next.” This was among the many comments Jennifer Carlson and I received following the online publication of our recent op-ed in the Washington Post.

For many gun control advocates and activists, when meaningful policy change did not occur after Sandy Hook where a dozen elementary school children were murdered, it signaled their impotence in going up against the powerful gun lobby. To many, the failure of Congress to enact any of the four “gun control” bills this week is a replay of past efforts following those mass shootings.

In our op-ed, we argued that the Orlando massacre might represent new political opportunities for policy reform.