The Roundtable: Can We De-Normalize Gun Violence?
The recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, have once again brought gun control to the fore of the public conversation. The discussion has remained highly partisan for decades, with the left and right at an apparent stalemate. A panel of experts joined Roundtable to share their analysis of mass shootings and what policy interventions could impact the United States’ gun violence epidemic. In this segment, they discuss the depressing social normalization of mass shootings.
Conner Moore argues that the last two decades of mass gun violence have become a self-perpetuating cycle, with each incident inspires copycats who will enjoy yet more media coverage.
"You're limited by your perceived options. You cannot choose a thing that doesn't occur to you to be chosen. Before Columbine, that wasn't really something that occurred to people, and now it's become a normalized form of expression," he says. "If we don't try to make some changes that address that, we're being delusional and naive in who we are and what we've produced as a culture."
Sharon Kyle points out that previous public campaigns have successfully reversed cultural trends in the past, suggesting that similar initiatives could work for gun violence.
"Fifty years ago, the surgeon general put a warning on the side of cigarettes saying that they could cause cancer. There was such an uproar against that. Now we see that the campaign has reduced smoking and lung cancer," she says.
"Mothers Against Drunk Drivers did the same thing. There was a time when you had a couple of drinks and you could get in the car and drive on home. Now we don't do that."
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Watch the full discussion below:
Roundtable Guests:
Conner Moore, Host, Politically Homeless Podcast
Sharon Kyle, Publisher, LA Progressive
Matt Savoy, Co-Founder, Free Thought Project
