Why Gun Violence in Schools Is NOT a Problem

In the wake of the murder of three 9 year olds and three adults at a Nashville grammar school some have called for stronger regulation or even banning of certain weapons such as the AR15 used in the killings. This will not happen because gun violence is not a problem in this country.

Republican Congressman Tim Burchett told the media of gun violence in schools that Congress is “not gonna fix it.” Republican Senator John Thune says it would be “premature” to do anything about school shootings, and as the New York Times reports, other Republicans are just afraid if they do anything about gun violence they’ll get beat in a primary. Therefore, gun violence in schools is not a problem.

The response to Nashville got me thinking about a classic book I read in grad school (and taught many times) about how public policy happens, John Kingdon’s Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policy. For something to get through Congress three things have to coincide: a problem, a plausible solution, and politics. A problem is something Washington is working on; if Washington isn’t working on it, it’s a condition. Gun violence in schools is a condition.

You might respond it is a problem, but the politics (Republican Party) is the barrier and you’d be right. Bottom line is that’s the story in the New York Times: ok it’s bad that kids are getting ripped apart by assault weapons in schools but a bigger problem is I might lose votes if I take any action.

But I am taking the Republicans at their word: there is no problem. Sandy Hook, Uvalde, Nashville. No problem.

President Biden is hamstrung but not by problem definition. He thinks gun violence in schools is a problem and he has solutions that would make things better. But he told reporters “I have gone the full extent of my executive authority to do, on my own, anything about guns.” In other words, the obstacle is politics—opposition from Republicans. Problems and Policies are there but Politics is not so Washington does nothing while we await the next school shooting.

More and more I think about a line in an essay George Saunders wrote in his collection The Braindead Megaphone where he is completing a discussion of the importance of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, “The United States of Huck.” So different context, but relevant question: “How can anyone be truly free in a country as violent and stupid as ours?”