Just two days after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, I pulled behind a white pickup truck at a local carwash. Emblazoned on his bumper was a direct and disturbing message: “Heavily Armed & Easily Pissed.” The bumper sticker seemed to encapsulate the mood of the country. It may also explain why road rage shootings have surged more than 400% during the last decade, according to the Gun Violence Archive. We are a divided nation on a political collision course, and for many, we have lost our sense of direction.
A study published in The American Journal of Medicine found that among 23 high-income countries, the U.S. accounted for 82% of all firearm deaths. We are easily the most armed nation in the world, with an estimated 393 million privately owned firearms. The AR-15 is the best-selling rifle in the United States, but it is more than just a deadly weapon used in mass shootings at Newtown, Conn., Parkland, Fla., Las Vegas, Aurora, Colo., and Uvalde, Texas. The AR-15 has become an iconic symbol of the gun rights movement illustrated on T-shirts, hats and bumper stickers. Trump ally Rep. Barry Moore of Alabama even introduced a bill in February to declare the AR-15 the “National Gun of America.”
Not surprisingly, the National Gun of America was used in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, critically injuring two rally attendees and killing a volunteer firefighter who was protecting his family. We know the shooter at the rally was heavily armed, purchasing 50 rounds of ammunition on the day of the attack. At the time of this writing, the FBI hasn’t uncovered why the 20-year-old shooter was so pissed off to carry out such a terrifying assault.
It is doubtful the latest assassination attempt will lead to any new legislation or change anyone’s position concerning gun violence prevention — especially Donald Trump. He has too much political capital invested in the NRA and the Second Amendment extremists in the Republican Party.
As a volunteer for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in Hendersonville, I see the problem much like Mark Barden — whose son Daniel was killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Barden recently wrote, “Gun violence doesn’t care about your political affiliation. It doesn’t care about party lines. It doesn’t care whether you’re a public figurehead or an ordinary person going about your day, whether at the grocery store, ballpark or a concert. This epidemic touches every single one of our lives, and we must come together as a nation to support bipartisan policy solutions that can save lives.”
Much to my amazement, Donald Trump and I now share something in common. We are two of more than an estimated 200 people a day in America injured as a result of gun violence. I deplore the attack on the former president, as well as the daily gun violence that shatters families and communities. The question remains: Does our divided nation have the political will to try to solve one of its most enduring problems? I still hold out hope, but I also see the bumper sticker right in front of me: “Heavily Armed & Easily Pissed.”
— John Owens
Hendersonville
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