El Paso Times | It is time we gun owners speak up: Olivia Troye
BY OLIVIA TROYE | EL PASO TIMES
2/23/23 2:29 PM MT
Last week, I sat paralyzed with fear, praying my 79-year-old aunt would survive her second public, gun violence tragedy. Dragged to safety by a stranger in the 2019 El Paso Walmart tragedy that claimed 23 lives, my aunt was chatting with a friend after her daily walk around the Cielo Vista Mall last Wednesday when gunshots rang out yet again.
This shooting came just days after an Oxford High student survived her second mass shooting, this time at Michigan State University – where three fellow students died. I refuse to let this become our new normal; and the only way to stem this inevitable tide is for responsible gun owners to stand up.
My father taught me how to shoot a handgun when I was 8 years old. My lifelong best friend is an avid gun enthusiast. And as a former national security official trained in how to shoot assault rifles, I’ve spent my life around guns.
My parents always emphasized that I must respect the weapon; they practiced safe storage and handling. And there’s no denying that guns can save lives, which I’ve witnessed in my line of work.
But while working at the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense and serving as Vice President Mike Pence’s counterterrorism advisor, I saw plenty of the bad while gathering intel on and conducting risk assessments in the aftermath of multiple mass shootings — from the horrific tragedy in Christchurch, New Zealand to the shootings at Fort Hood, Parkland, the Pittsburgh Synagogue, the Gilroy Garlic Festival, Dayton, and my hometown of El Paso.
I remember the details of every single one of them vividly. It is why when the breaking news alerts hit and the chyrons share the latest horrific figures, it aggravates me to my core, knowing the pain of the communities and families.
I joined 97Percent because they are a gun safety organization taking a different approach to this seemingly intractable issue. They and I fundamentally believe we are never going to make any progress on reducing gun deaths without engaging responsible gun owners. For too long, responsible gun owners have been left out of the conversation, when our research shows that 65% of gun owners are concerned about rising gun violence in our country and 70% want to help reduce gun deaths.
When it comes to policy solutions, it cannot be a zero sum game. We must advocate for policies rooted in the common ground between non-gun owners and gun owners, and these policies cannot interfere with law-abiding gun owner’s Second Amendment rights.
The way to do that is by focusing on the who vs. the what: policies that prevent people at high-risk of violence from owning or purchasing guns, instead of policies regulating the weapon itself — despite trends across the country advocating for the latter. 97Percent’s research, for example, found that 80% of gun owners believe people convicted of a violent crime should not be able to own a gun. These who-oriented policies are not only supported by more Americans, but our research also reveals they will have the greatest impact.
97Percent has identified four such policies that could reduce gun-related homicides by 28% and gun-related suicides by 6%: 1) Violent Misdemeanor Laws; 2) Revamped Universal Background Checks; 3) State Gun Permits; 4) Modified Red Flag Laws.
Current federal law and all but four states do not prohibit someone convicted of a violent misdemeanor from owning a gun. In the case of MSU, lowering the threshold to violent misdemeanors would have prohibited the alleged shooter from possessing a gun because of his prior conviction; and the shooting could have been prevented. Closing this loophole could alone reduce gun homicides by 19%.
Federal background checks are not sufficient, in that they’re often not capable of picking up misdemeanors. A search of local and state records is what’s needed; and the best way to execute that is via a state gun permit (available online, at a low cost) that runs a local background check. This would also provide benefits to gun owners, allowing for transfers between family members, for instance, without having to go to an FFL for a background check if those participating are permit holders.
And lastly, red flag laws, which enable police and family members to petition the court to remove firearms from someone they believe is a threat to themselves or others. It provides a mechanism for those observing warning signs — of which there were many for the gunmen nicknamed “school shooter,” who killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School — to actually do something. Nineteen states have red flag laws. Texas does not.
To address gun owner concerns and enforcement issues, we propose red flag laws guarantee due process procedures, allowing the subject of the order to appear before the court and present evidence – as well as ensure expeditious return of firearms upon conclusion of the order.
The perception is gun owners don’t support gun reforms, and so they stall in Congress and statehouses across the country as electeds fear the wrath of their constituents. But the data suggests a huge majority of gun owners support reform. It is time we gun owners speak up.
Olivia Troye is an advisory board member of 97Percent, a bipartisan gun safety organization focused on engaging gun owners. El Paso is her hometown.