It Is Exactly The Time To Talk About Gun Control

It is exactly the time to talk about gun control.

People say that talking about gun control in wake of a tragedy is in bad taste, that it’s simply not the time to talk about such things. But there isn’t a better time to talk about gun control. Like it or not, change is often fueled by emotion and passion. Change doesn’t usually occur because people thought really hard about something and realized that it was illogical. Change requires a catalyst.

In Season 1, Episode 8 of the animated show “Archer,” the staff of the spy agency are asking for change: a cost-of-living adjustment. So, when Lana and Archer are in the field and need an extraction, the staff agree to save them only if the boss, Malory, provides the cost-of-living adjustment. One of the characters exclaims that it is not the time to discuss the adjustment, and another character, Krieger, responds saying, “It is exactly the time.” In the end, they receive the adjustment, Lana and Archer are extracted, and things end well for them.

I am not suggesting that mass shootings be used as leverage for social or political change, then tossed aside once people have gotten the result they wanted. That dehumanizes the victims and their families and friends. Mass shootings are also much, much more than the term used to describe them. They shouldn’t be objectified. Recognizing each victim as a subject, as a real person, can provide the kind of weight to turn one of far too many mass shootings into a catalyst for change.

This is exactly the time to talk about gun control, because talking about it now can move us in the direction to prevent more mass shootings from happening. I don't want to pretend like I have an end-all solution, or that a perfect one exists, but we have to start somewhere.