Chief Enforcer of US Gun Laws Fears Americans May Become Numb to Violence With Each Mass Shooting

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: US News and World Report/AP

Feb. 24, 2024, at 9:15 a.m.


LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — The head of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says he fears that a drumbeat of mass shootings and other gun violence across the United States could make Americans numb to the bloodshed, fostering apathy to finding solutions rather than galvanizing communities to act.

Director Steve Dettelbach's comments to The Associated Press came after he met this past week with family members of some of the 18 people killed in October at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine by a U.S. Army reservist who later took his own life. He said people must not accept that gun violence is a prevalent part of American life.

“It seems to me that things that we used to sort of consider memorable, life-altering, shocking events that you might think about and talk about for months or years to come now are happening with seeming frequency that makes it so that we sort of think, "That's just the one that happened this week,'" he said. “If we come to sort of accept that, that's a huge hurdle in addressing the problem.”

Dettelbach, whose agency is responsible for enforcing the nation’s gun laws, met for nearly two hours at Central Maine Community College with relatives of those killed and survivors of the Lewiston shooting. An AP reporter also attended, along other with law enforcement officials. Some expressed frustration about missed red flags and questioned why the gunman was able to get the weapon he used. Dettelbach told his audience that they can be a powerful catalyst for change.

Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/maine/articles/2024-02-24/chief-enforcer-of-us-gun-laws-fears-americans-may-become-numb-to-violence-with-each-mass-shooting

[Charlie Chapulin]

1. May become numb?

[2naSalit]

3. Ditto!

[eggplant]

8. I came here to say this.

[keithbvadu2]

2. Trump tells parents of murdered schoolchildren to get over it.

[sop]

4. What would the body count from one mass shooting have to be for Americans to become less numb?

Perhaps after every single American loses a family member to gun violence. Probably not even then.

[multigraincracker]

5. Need a new diagnosis for the DSM-Manual.

If you answer yes to 5 or more of these symptoms you a Gun Nut.

[Autumn]

6. We are already are numb to those shootings. They are over and done with in a few hours and on to the next.

Ho hum.

[PSPS]

7. LOL. "may become" LOL.

[LudwigPastorius]

9. "could make Americans numb"...

I got three words for you, Steve.

Sandy Hook Elementary

[Turbineguy]

10. Maybe if they shot some MAGAts

instead of school children.

[SWBTATTReg]

11. Numb? Well, I think this is already here. What I'm waiting for, and it may never come, is that some nut

will run rampart and shoot up the republican party bigwigs, trying to kill as many as they can. I'm surprised that this hasn't happened yet (although a shooting did happen at a baseball game in which Senators got shot).

There are shootings every day, some days, multiple shootings.

Personally, I think instead of apathy to finding solutions rather than galvanizing communities to act (some communities have been acting to address this problem), the pendulum is slowly, very slowly tilting towards better gun management/ownership.

[SouthernDem4ever]

12. Isn't that the goal of the NRA?

At least in their twisted logic.

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Repugs were numb to it even before the first shooting ever.

They never cared about the lives of "those" people, meaning anyone who didn't fork over campaign cash.

[Aussie105]

14. Too numb to do anything about it.

Not numb enough to leave their guns at home when they go out shopping.

The 'numb and not doing anything about it' thing happened a long time ago.

Around the time when the current gun worshipers were kids watching the Lone Ranger and his sidekick and learnt that guns and racism were just part of the culture.

Director Steve Dettelbach - a slow learner?

[Novara]

15. You're just coming up with that now, Sparky?

America became numb in 2012 when 20 seven-year olds were slaughtered in their school and nothing was done. Since then it has predictably only gotten worse.

There was a shooting a few houses down from mine on Friday night. I do not live in an unsafe neighborhood and this is the first shooting here in my neighborhood. It wasn't a mass shooting, but it was obvious to even someone who doesn't know shit about guns that this was a high-pwered assault weapon. It was a rapid fire volley of shots, then they circled back and shot some more. I hit the floor both times, and I crawled to my refrigerator, thinking if bullets came into my house I might be safer with my fridge between me and the sound of the shooting. One of the bullets hit my house and lodged in the wall. One went through the house across the street from me. The car that was the target of the shooting is absolutely riddled with bullets but one of my neighbors said the occupants got out and ran. I don't know how anyone could have survived that. Dozens and dozens of shell casings were marked by the police in the intersection, and they were out there all night cataloging the scene. My neighbors all gathered on my lawn and we tsk tsked about how even in our neighborhood this is happening now.

I have news for everyone who doesn't yet realize this: it will happen to us all. There are far too many angry people with far too many guns on our streets among us. As long as we continue in this direction, statistically, gun violence will eventually touch us all.

And yeah, I'm having nightmares about shootings now.

NO ONE NEEDS A WEAPON LIKE THAT. NO ONE.

[republianmushroom]

16. Where in hell has this dude been. "May", jesus

More than 36,000 deaths a year. May.