It won’t take long— Americans will quickly move on to the next tragedy that our nation faces. The last shootings that grabbed headlines saw 31 lives lost in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH, but people have forgotten, just as those in Highlands Ranch, CO (May 7) or Poway, CA (April 27). Tragically, Demetrius Flowers, Cornelius Jordan, and the other 5 lost in Chicago, IL shootings won’t even be remembered by the American people at all. That’s the nature of the gun violence epidemic our nation faces; each person can only care for so long before they lose focus and move on to the next shooting.

The deep pain Americans feel is very real, and is shown through the wide support for action. Gallup found that 90% of Americans support the passage of background checks in the United States, and the majority of Coloradans support some gun safety legislation passed. Although they support gun safety they do not recognize what the actual solution could be. No, it’s not background checks. It’s not extreme risk protection orders. It is not even an assault weapons ban. It’s something else entirely.



As a 19-year-old who has worked with March For Our Lives, Giffords, and other gun safety organizations, it’s an odd position for me to take. I’ve gone before U.S. senators and explained to them the importance of the laws I just said not to focus on. I’ve spoken before crowds of people about how the NRA is holding us back from the legislative success activists in my generation are diligently working towards. Truly, it’s these experiences that have convinced me that some other solution is required. Legislators such as Senator Thom Tillis (NC) and Senator Cory (CO) Gardner come from states that widely support gun safety laws. These leaders, however, have refused to act because they don’t have to represent the majority of America or even the majority of their states.

Why? A good percentage of Americans don’t vote. Senators Tillis and Gardner know that those who turn up on November 6, 2020, agree with them. These voters are not the majority of Americans, but as they are the active few the Senators need to listen only to their voice to win the election. The representatives from gerrymandered districts, congressional and state areas specifically drawn to benefit one party, understand that they represent carefully crafted groups who will only vote for them. Representative Olsen in TX-22 will never have to worry about representing the majority of gun owners who support gun safety because that district is drawn to always elect him. There’s no incentive for these legislators to act on the will of Americans.

The solution to the gun epidemic in this country, I believe, lies in finding out just why voter turnout is so low in the U.S. When Colorado passed Vote at Home, voting spiked. That next legislative session, laws with wide public support (including gun safety legislation) were brought up before the State Congress. When Governor Schwarzenegger implemented independent district commissions, California saw a high degree of turnover of incumbents, allowing for new voices to really represent constituents.

When the system itself is at fault, it can be futile to try and address the symptoms, no matter how painful they are. We must instead go to the root of the issue. When the voting process is fair and secure, our leaders will be forced to listen to a more diverse and representative group of citizens. Approximately 90 percent of Americans support background checks, however, that same 90 percent are not represented in the active voting population. The sooner my fellow activists — young and old — can see the need for structural reform, the sooner we reach the other side of this never-ending cycle of death and rescue our country from the terrifying grip of gun violence.

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