Calls for gun reform have once again rung out in the wake of another horrific mass shooting – this time in Las Vegas, Nevada, where 59 people died and more than 500 were injured.
A routine seems to have emerged with these events: following the days of mourning and expressing condolences, politicians and gun reform advocates and opponents speak their pieces on gun control, then seemingly retreat into the shadows. When the next nightmare happens, the cycle repeats.
National security expert Juliette Kayyem blames the NRA and the complicit politicians who prevent the conversation on gun reform from going beyond a post-tragedy squabble.
“I am tired of not being able to talk about guns as in a homeland security issue and the need to minimize the risk to our community," Kayyem said during an interview with Boston Public Radio Wednesday. "There is no reason that we should not have that conversation."
The NRA and gun lobbyists have already won in Kayyem's eyes by using their pocketbooks and influence to ensure many politicians respond to mass casualty by not condemning the weapons used in the attacks.
“No other attack would you have those reactions," she said. "Terrorists start to use cars, so we have a serious discussion about how do we protect people from cars mowing them down. Terrorists try to bring down airplanes, so we have a serious conversation about locking the cockpit door. Terrorists try to bring ... explosives in liquids, so we change the way people ... are able to bring drinks through security. We've done it before, but because of this extent of the NRA in setting the conditions of whether we can even have a debate, let alone the conversation ... I'm sick of it.”
Juliette Kayyem is a national security expert, founder of Kayyem solutions, host of the SCIF podcast and contributor to CNN and WGBH. To hear her interview in its entirety, click on the audio player above.
