Guns on the ballot
Does a 13-year-old need a semi-automatic rifle? Does anyone?
The agent at the checkpoint between Calais, Maine, and tiny St. Stephen, New Brunswick, peered at me suspiciously. “What brings you to Canada?” he asked.
I said we planned to spend Labor Day weekend in St. Stephen because my husband had scheduled a Nexus interview on Tuesday at the border crossing point. (Nexus is a “trusted traveler” program between the US and Canada, and an in-person interview at the border is the last step in the application process. I have my Nexus card already; it facilitates visits to our daughter and son-in-law in Toronto.)
“Are you bringing anything with you that you plan to leave in Canada?” the agent inquired. “Such as” – he paused – “weapons? Especially coming from Washington, DC,” he added pointedly.
I said we weren’t carrying any weapons. Despite living in DC, I said, “I’ve never seen a gun except in the holster of law enforcement, and I hope to keep it that way.” Offhand remarks usually aren’t helpful at border crossings, but this answer seemed to satisfy the agent, who nodded approvingly and waved us through.
Later, I thought about the exchange. It’s true that I’ve never seen a gun. It’s also true that there’s gun violence in my part of DC nearly every day, and more than once I’ve heard rounds fired on the street outside my window at night. My lack of up-close encounters has been a matter of luck.
Our weekend in St. Stephen was serene. I walked each day beside the St. Croix River, which forms the boundary between Canada and eastern Maine. I gazed across the river at Calais – also a very small town – and wondered if life felt different there. The quietness of St. Stephen (pop. 4,510) was surely due in part to its size, but it felt like more than that. Just as you don’t notice a refrigerator’s hum until it shuts off, it took the sudden absence of Trumpism and its undercurrent of violence to make me realize how it’s become a constant backdrop to our daily lives.
It's the "damn guns"
The day after we crossed back into Maine, a mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, left two teachers and two students dead. The shooter, a 14-year-old boy, used an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle – the weapon of choice for mass murder. His father gave him the gun for Christmas even though the boy, then 13, had already made online threats to shoot up a school.
Giving a loaded, unlocked, semi-automatic rifle to a child is perfectly legal in Georgia, so far as I can tell. The Republican-controlled state does not have universal background checks for gun purchases, safe storage laws, or a red-flag law, and you don’t need a permit to carry a concealed weapon in public. Though Georgia stands out for its lax gun laws, so do many states, and school shootings happen across the country.
Asked what policies he would support to prevent further mass shootings, the Republican vice presidential candidate, J. D. Vance, proclaimed that “strict gun laws is not the thing that is gonna solve this problem.” Mental health was the issue, he said. A different view came from the shooter’s own grandfather, who described the boy’s troubled family life but pointed out, “If he didn’t have a damn gun, he wouldn’t have gone and killed anybody.”
The stakes this November
The election is eight weeks away, and when it comes to gun violence, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Under the Biden administration, Congress passed the first significant federal gun safety law in nearly 30 years, which closed some gun law loopholes. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform goes further, calling for a ban on assault weapons, universal background checks, a national red flag law, and safe gun storage requirements.
Trump, by contrast, has vowed to roll back gun-control measures. He warns his base that “if the Biden regime gets four more years, they are coming for your guns.” He’s promised the NRA that in a Trump second term, "no one will lay a finger on your firearms.”
The race remains perilously close. Harris has been running about 3 percentage points ahead of Trump in national polling. But the election outcome doesn’t depend on the national popular vote, only on the Electoral College, which remains structurally biased toward the GOP. According to analyst Nate Silver, a 3 percent edge for Harris in the popular vote means a tossup in the Electoral College. And her narrow popular vote lead may be evaporating. Democrats can win – but only if we do the work.
Cutting through the noise
If you’re like me, you’re already bombarded with appeals from candidates and organizations, by email, text, and phone, asking for donations and volunteer hours. To cut through the noise, I rely on NOPE, the all-volunteer group I work with, to tell me where my limited resources can have the biggest impact. Our fall kickoff meeting is on September 18 over Zoom. Everyone’s welcome, and I’d be delighted if you’d join me. RSVP here.
The election will likely be decided in seven battleground states: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada. These are the states where outreach to voters – in person, over the phone, or by letter – can really pay off. Pennsylvania is considered the likely “tipping point” that will determine the outcome of the presidential race. If Harris and Walz win Pennsylvania, they have a clear path to 270 Electoral College votes and the White House. If they don’t, their path is much more difficult.
Our meeting will focus on Pennsylvania, with Senator Bob Casey as our guest. I hadn’t realized this, but Casey is an interesting (and rare) example of a politician who changed his stance on guns, coming to favor restrictions despite the widespread affinity for firearms in rural areas of his state. The Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 changed his mind, he writes. Now he’s up for reelection, and his seat is essential to holding the Senate. Along with Sen. Casey, we’ll hear from Pennsylvania’s Janelle Stelson, who's challenging MAGA fanatic Scott Perry for his seat in the US House, and Jordan Harris, part of the Democratic leadership in the Pennsylvania legislature.
NOPE’s data-driven targeting team will update us on key races across the battleground states, and we’ll learn about specific opportunities to get involved by donating, writing letters, making phone calls, and knocking on doors. I hope to canvass in Pennsylvania, if my arthritic ankle permits. If it doesn’t, I’ll choose an option that can be done from home. At the Democratic National Convention last month, Michelle Obama implored us to “do something.” Each of us can only do our small bit, but together it adds up. I hope to see you on September 18.
A gun is not something we need. Want an accessory? Get a beret, a French one!
NOONE needs an assault rifle Actually, I don’t think anyone needs a gun While I have also been lucky enough not to witness any gun violence.. it happens every day here AND yep, most of the guns come from the USA 🇺🇸