We don’t have to accept the KC Chiefs rally shooting. And we should all be angry | Opinion

Last week, amid the joyful celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, the nation was once again jolted by our grim reality of gun violence. Twenty-two people were shot, one fatally, including nine innocent children, during what should have been a time of joy. As more information emerges from this event, I’m not heartbroken. I am unequivocally furious.

I am angry that while much of the country works towards passing solutions to the gun violence epidemic, Missouri’s leaders have chosen a path at odds with the research on what works to reduce violence. In 2007, state lawmakers repealed the state’s firearm purchaser licensing legislation — a law that addressed important gaps in the federal background check system. I’ve studied the impact of this repeal and found that it increased gun homicides by 47% and gun suicides by 23%. That is the opposite effect the repeal was purported to have.

Missouri also allows for permitless public carry, meaning people can carry loaded, concealed handguns without being required to undergo safety training or apply for a license. They can carry these concealed guns in almost any public place, including a Super Bowl parade. Our research finds that removing concealed carry licensing requirements increases gun violence.

Taken together, Missouri is headed backward. These law changes are also in direct opposition to what Americans say they want. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults support requiring people to get a license before buying a gun. Less than one-quarter support allowing concealed carry without a license.

I am outraged that we have become complacent, accepting the unacceptable as children become tolerable casualties in a war fueled by lax gun laws, as our elected officials are stuck in tribal politics rather than focused on safeguarding the lives of our children. For the people who claim more guns mean safer communities, it’s time to put that argument to rest. We have more guns than people in this country.

As a responsible gun owner, I know the important role that guns can have in sport shooting and hunting. But if more guns and weaker policies meant a safer nation, then we would be the safest country in the world. When tragedies such as the shooting at the Super Bowl parade happen, it’s all too obvious that we are not. When will we acknowledge that the price of unrestricted access to firearms has become too steep?

I’m irate that we live in a society where the fear of gun violence permeates every aspect of our lives. The fear of a potential tragedy hangs over bustling public spaces. The simple act of going to a movie theater, a mall or a Super Bowl parade can fill us with dread, knowing that at any moment, someone with a gun could shatter the peace or even end your life.

And I am beyond enraged that it is entirely likely that the best the families of the victims in this tragedy will get from their elected officials can be summed up with “thoughts and prayers.” The same lawmakers who made Missouri a more dangerous place to live offer empty platitudes that do nothing to address the root cause of the problem or prevent future atrocities.

While the details of this shooting continue to unfold, one thing remains abundantly clear: There are policies that work to reduce violence, and Missouri has chosen to ignore them. It’s time to confront the hard truth and enact meaningful change before more lives are needlessly lost.

The time for anger is now. Let our collective outrage fuel a movement for change. Let us demand accountability from those in power and refuse to accept the status quo any longer. Our communities deserve better. Our children deserve better. It’s time to turn our anger into action and claim our right to safety and peace.

Cassandra Crifasi is the co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions in Baltimore, Maryland.