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DETROIT – It’s been over a week since the Michigan State University shooting – long enough, I understand, that most of the country has moved on.
Three dead isn’t much by today’s mass murder standards. And that’s not to mention the 100+ Americans who die every day from firearms in homicides, suicides and accidents. Most of these deaths don’t even make the news.
However, here in Michigan, we are still dealing with the aftermath of the shooting and mourning the victims.
Tuesday was the funeral of Arielle Anderson, a 19-year-old from Detroit. Dignitaries in attendance included Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who spoke of Anderson’s “quiet confidence” and “strong compassion” and the “special bond” Anderson had with an aunt he helped take care
He also served as MSU’s board president, Rema Vassar. He announced that the university was conferring degrees on Anderson, as well as Brian Fraser, 20, and Alexandria Verner, 20, the other two students who died last week.
At Fraser’s funeral last Saturday, a priest recalled his charisma and humour: how he wasn’t the most gifted athlete, but he so loved “being part of a team”.
A speaker at Verner’s service remembered her as an idealist, someone who “sees something greater in humanity”.
Some of the survivors of the shooting were also in the news, including John Hao, 20, a Chinese student who was shot in the back and is now paralyzed. His parents, who do not speak English, flew to the United States to be with him. A friend set up a GoFundMe to cover his running costs, and donations poured in, including from NBA star James Harden, who heard Hao was a big fan.
Harden put on a pair of game-worn sneakers and spoke to Hao on FaceTime, telling him to stay strong. He also gave her his personal phone number so they could talk again in the future, perhaps in person when Hao is well enough to attend a match as a special guest. Harden later told an ESPN interviewer that he hoped to “make John’s birthday, even if it was just for a minute.”
Dieu-Nalio Chery for The Washington Post via Getty Images
That same attempt, to offer some kind of emotional support, is why thousands of people have turned out for vigils across the state. And that’s why when the MSU basketball team played the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor over the weekend, the Michigan athletic department flooded the arena with green lights ― the official color of the MSU Spartans ― for a moment of silence and then a rendition of the MSU alma mater by the Michigan band.
These intra-state rivalry games are known for their rough play on the hard courts and not-so-friendly taunts in the stands. Tonight, Michigan students held up a banner that read “Spartan Strong,” the slogan everyone here uses to show their solidarity.
It may sound familiar, as it has become the go-to phrase for mourning mass shootings, as in “Uvalde Strong” or “Parkland Strong.” The phrase actually has a history that predates mass shootings; I remember hearing this for the first time after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, when the city embraced the motto “Boston Strong.”
Whatever its origin, its appropriation as a response to gun massacres makes some sense, even if the fact that the shootings now have their own well-established slogan is hardly a cause for celebration.
“We’re getting too good,” local sports blogger and podcaster Seth Fisher She said Thursday.
The question now is whether expressions of sympathy are just the glossy version of “thoughts and prayers” — or whether, for once, they will lead to some kind of response.
Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
In Michigan, at least, there’s reason to believe action is possible. Last week, Democrats in the Legislature introduced a series of bills to regulate gun access and storage, with plans to move quickly on three fronts: expanding the current background check system to cover all gun sales, establishing new rules for the storage and introduction of weapons. . establishes a mechanism for obtaining “emergency risk protection orders”.
The latter provision would create what became known as the “red flag law,” under which a judge could authorize police to temporarily take a person’s firearms following evidence that the person poses a danger to himself or herself others.
These proposals are not new. Michigan Democrats laid it all out a year ago after the Oxford High School shooting north of Detroit that left four dead and seven injured. The proposals couldn’t even get a committee hearing because incumbent Republicans wouldn’t allow one.
Now, thanks to the 2022 election, Democrats control the Legislature and are moving forward, with Whitmer, the second Democrat to call for these laws, ready to sign them.
This does not mean that their adoption is a foregone conclusion. Democratic margins are slim, with just two seats each in the 38-member Senate and 110-member House. Some of these represent more rural and conservative areas where there are more gun owners and there is more suspicion of any sort of gun restrictions.
an organization, Great Lakes Gun Rightscalled the Democrats’ push a “power grab” and an effort to exploit a tragedy for political gain, and vowed that to punish MPs vote yes with recall efforts.
“If they think they’re going to be able to quietly pass these laws without repercussions, I think they’re kidding themselves,” Brenden Boudreau, the organization’s executive director, told Michigan Radio.
But Great Lakes Gun Rights came under fire right before the election when she tweeted a silly green cartoon to Whitmer with the line “Gretchen grabs guns.”
And while the accusation of exploiting a massacre for political purposes has deterred many lawmakers in the past, it doesn’t seem to deter this generation of Democratic leaders, who have been tight-lipped about their intentions.
Some Democrats he posted on Twitter immediately at the arms meeting, reaffirming his support for the proposals and effectively challenging opponents to attempt a recall. Winnie Brinks, the new Michigan Senate Majority Leader, appeared on several local and national television programs, promising to bring the new proposals to a vote and bring them to Whitmer’s desk.
“We will,” Brinks promised MSNBC last week.
His confidence reflects poll numbers that show the proposals under consideration are wildly popular, including among many Republican voters and gun owners. Indeed, longtime supporters of the measures, such as Democratic Sens. Rosemary Bayer and Mallory McMorrow said they believe some of the measures could even garner Republican support now that the GOP leadership isn’t completely blocking the vote.
Al Goldis/Associated Press
Bayer told me Friday that passing new gun laws was one of the two issues he heard the most about when he knocked on doors during the 2022 campaign. (The other was abortion). maybe interested in voting for them, even if no one would want to be the casting and deciding vote.
But lawmakers have yet to spend much time in Lansing this year and need to update the old legislation to make sure it takes advantage of the latest feedback from states that have already introduced similar laws.
“We want to make sure we have all the voices, we want to make sure we’re as inclusive as possible and we really have the best legislation possible,” Bayer said.
Another prominent Michigan Democrat with hopes for bipartisanship on gun laws is U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin. Slotkin is a former CIA officer who won three elections in two partly rural and conservative-leaning districts: the first included Oxford High, when the shooting took place there; the current one includes MSU.
“I’ve heard from countless hunters, sportsmen, local Republican leaders, business owners, game enthusiasts and parents who carry concealed handguns,” Slotkin said in an op-ed he wrote for the Detroit Free Press this week. “They were all clear that they wanted to do something to protect our children from gun violence.”
Of course, the reason these proposals have such broad support is that they are relatively modest, the kind that only the most ardent gun rights advocates would see as a threat to liberty. And with gun regulations, as with so many other types of legislation, modest measures tend to have only modest effects.
But at this point, the adoption of new, even progressive, rules would represent a break with the political past. And sometimes, that’s what it takes to create a different future.
I’m a passionate and motivated journalist with a focus on world news. My experience spans across various media outlets, including Buna Times where I serve as an author. Over the years, I have become well-versed in researching and reporting on global topics, ranging from international politics to current events.