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Friday, May 27, 2022
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Brian Howey: Atrocity in America
Friday, May 27, 2022 10:59 AM

By BRIAN A. HOWEY

INDIANAPOLIS – Merriam-Webster defines "atrocity" as "a shockingly bad or atrocious act, object, or situation." In a different era, the word "atrocity" was used mostly in wartime situations, be it Babyn Yar in Kyiv, the Katyn Forest massacre in Poland, the Andersonville Prison during the American Civil War, or My Lai in Vietnam.

But since 1999 following the first modern mass school shooting at Columbine HS, I've been using words like "atrocity" and "massacre" to describe everyday American places: Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the Pulse night club in Orlando, the FedEx facility here in Indy, Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, and now Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

America, obviously, has a gun problem, as well as a mental health dilemma. School massacres have gone from about 25 annually in 2000 to 236 in 2021 and more than 135 so far this year.

Since the pandemic hit in 2020, Americans have bought 40 million guns. Pew Research reports that the U.S. murder rate rose 30% between 2019 and 2020 – the largest single-year increase in more than a century, according to data published this month by the CDC. There were 7.8 homicides for every 100,000 people in the United States in 2020, up from six homicides per 100,000 people the year before. According to the FBI, there were 21,570 murders last year, up 29% from 16,669 in 2019 and the highest annual total since 1995.

A majority of the of these school rampages were done with AR-15, a gun designed for military combat. The 18-year-old Uvalde terrorist legally purchased two AR-15s, though he wasn't old enough to buy a beer.

The Wall Street Journal editorial board observed: The recent proliferation of mass shootings suggests a deeper malady than gun laws can fix. Firearm laws were few and weak before the 1970s. Yet only in recent decades have young men entered schools and supermarkets for the purpose of killing the innocent. That a teenager could look at a nine-year-old, aim a gun, and pull the trigger signals some larger social and cultural breakdown.

The leading cause of death among American children is now guns, according to Axios. Indiana ranks 7th in the U.S. with 8.7 deaths per 100,000. Nearly two-thirds of the 4,368 U.S. youths up to age 19 who were killed by guns in 2020 were homicide victims (car crashes killed less than 4,000).

How should we respond?

A recent CBS News poll found 54% of Americans want laws covering the sale of guns; 30% believe gun laws should be kept as they are, and 16% want them to be less strict. A Politico/Morning Consult poll conducted entirely after the Uvalde massacre found 88% support requiring background checks for all gun sales (22% of guns are acquired without one); 75% back a national database; 67% favor banning assault rifles; 84% back blocking gun sales to those documented to be mentally ill.
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    INDIANAPOLIS – When the Indiana General Assembly reconvenes on Tuesday for "Technical Corrections Day" it will almost certainly override Gov. Eric Holcomb's veto of HEA1041, the transgender sports bill. But the subplot will be the looming U.S. Supreme Court decision of the Dobbs case, which is expected to repeal Roe v. Wade. The U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion, Republican Lt. Gov. Robert Orr had been a contributor to Planned Parenthood. When a young Republican named Mike Pence first ran for Congress in 1988, the abortion issue wasn’t a campaign hallmark. As the nation grappled with the fallout of Roe, it was Northeastern Catholics who mounted the initial vanguard against legalized abortion. After the 1994 Republican Revolution, the pro-life bulwark shifted to the South and Midwest, helping to create the red center of the nation, while the coasts (along with Illinois and Colorado) became blue. In the 1990s in the Indiana General Assembly, Republican House Speaker Paul Mannweiler and Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton were pro-choice, while Democrat House Speaker John Gregg was pro-life. How far will super majority Republicans go? Will they ditch the carve outs that would allow abortion in the case of rape, incest or the endangerment of the life of the mother? Here’s a clue: In an op-ed published in the Richmond Palladium-Item, State Sen. Jeff Raatz said he will support "any" bill that restricts abortion. 
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    By BRIAN A. HOWEY

    INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana General Assembly overrode Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto of HEA1041 which bans transgender athletes from playing female sports. The House voted 67-28 while the Senate voted 32-15. The ACLU filed a suit against the new law set to take effect on July 1 on Tuesday. “I want to thank the overwhelming support from Hoosiers across the state on this important matter. HEA1041, the purpose of this bill is to maintain fair competition in girls sports now and in the future,” said State Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, who authored the bill and defended it on the House floor Tuesday. 
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    By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis

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    HPI Analysis: The evolution of the U.S. and Indiana abortion debate in post-Roe world

    By BRIAN A. HOWEY

    INDIANAPOLIS – When the U.S. Supreme Court voted 7-2 in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion, Lt. Gov. Robert Orr had been a contributor to Planned Parenthood. When a young Republican named Mike Pence first ran for Congress in 1988, the abortion issue wasn’t a campaign hallmark. As the nation grappled with the fallout of Roe, it was Northeastern Catholics who mounted the initial vanguard against legalized abortion. After the 1994 Republican Revolution, the pro-life bulwark shifted to the South and Midwest, helping to create the red center of the nation, while the coasts (along with Illinois and Colorado) became blue. In the 1990s in the Indiana General Assembly, Republican House Speaker Paul Mannweiler and Senate President Pro Tem Robert Garton were pro-choice, while Democrat House Speaker John Gregg was pro-life.
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  • NRA donations to Sens. Braun and Young

    NRA donations to Sens. Braun and Young

    "Horrified by the senseless murder of 14 children and a teacher in Texas. My heart is with the parents and the community bearing this unimaginable anguish. We have to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, which is why I support Indiana’s red flag law, which works well when it is utilized." - U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, tweeting after 19 students and two teachers were murdered in their Uvalde, Tex., school on Tuesday. According to Brady United, Braun has received $1.249 million from the NRA, while U.S. Sen. Todd Young has received $2.89 million from the NRA.
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