Personal tragedies can spur people sitting on the sidelines to take action. The first example that comes to my mind is Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). The death of her 13-year-old daughter at the hands of a drunk driver motivated an ordinary mom, Candace Lightner, to do the extraordinary. She took on the problem of drunk driving and made huge strides that made life better for everyone. Lightner split with MADD in 1985 as the organization’s focus and tactics shifted, but what she started helped decrease drunk driving fatalities by 55% since 1982 (archived).
Lightner’s goal was to target a specific problem using tailored techniques that would yield measurable results. She did not lash out at all consumers or producers of alcohol. She did not demand a reinstatement of the disastrous Eighteenth Amendment that banned alcohol. She won broad public support by acknowledging the existence of responsible drinking while addressing a specific behavior associated with irresponsible drinking.
On the topic of firearms, there are similar personal tragedies. But different people react differently to tragedy. There are two notable women who took different paths after suffering personal loss associated with the criminal misuse of firearms.
The first one, who the Second Amendment community does not like at all, is former U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). Outgoing President Joe Biden recently awarded McCarthy the Presidential Citizens Medal (archived link):
Former Long Island Rep. Carolyn McCarthy set to receive Presidential Citizens Medal
WASHINGTON — Former Long Island congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who served in the House for 18 years, is scheduled to be honored Thursday at the White House with the Presidential Citizens Medal.
McCarthy, a Mineola Democrat, is among 20 Americans receiving the medal, the nation’s second highest civilian honor, according to a statement released Thursday by the White House on behalf of President Joe Biden.
McCarthy, 80, first rose to national prominence as a gun control advocate after her husband was among six-passengers killed during the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting. Her son Kevin was among 19 passengers severely wounded, and the one-time nurse soon found herself as a national figure in the gun control movement.
She was elected to the House in 1997 to represent New York’s 4th Congressional District, and would become a point person for House Democrats on gun control measures during her time in office.
The White House in a statement Thursday described McCarthy as a nurse who “had an instinct to heal and serve.”
“When her husband and son were shot on a local commuter train, she became an advocate so persuasive that she was recruited to run for Congress,” the statement said. “She served 18 years, championing gun safety measures including improved background checks, as a citizen legislator devoted to protecting our Nation’s welfare.”
McCarthy suffered a horrible personal tragedy with the killing of her husband in the 1993 Long Island Rail Road shooting. Her son was severely injured in the attack and was left partially paralyzed (archived link). As a private citizen, McCarthy unsuccessfully sued Olin Corporation, the parent company of Winchester, whose ammunition was criminally misused by the assailant. (McCarthy v. Olin Corp.)
McCarthy entered politics explicitly running on a platform of gun control. Since she was elected, she has supported just about every gun control proposal at the federal level. McCarthy is probably best-known for her inability to explain what a barrel shroud is, which she was trying to ban as part of a gun control bill. She has been justly mocked by the gun rights community for trying to pass legislation on something she didn’t understand in the first place. (Cue the 1897 Indiana Pi Bill.)
There is another woman who has been through a similar, horrible personal tragedy. That’s former Texas State Rep. Suzanna Gratia Hupp (R). A chiropractor by training, Hupp was at the Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, TX in 1991 when a madman attacked it in one of the deadliest mass attacks in America. Hupp was at the diner with her parents and managed to escape, but sadly, both her parents were among the 23 victims whose lives were taken. Hupp owned a handgun but complied with Texas law and left it in her car at the time of the attack, becoming defenseless in the process.
As a survivor who suffered personal loss, Hupp took a different route. She testified in legislatures in support of concealed carry laws. She ran for elected office on a platform of gun rights and won. She wrote a book on her experiences: “From Luby’s to the Legislature: One Woman’s Fight Against Gun Control.” You can see some of her testimony here:
I empathize with both McCarthy and Hupp on their loss. I can’t imagine what they’ve been through. However, these women took opposite paths as a result of the tragedies, one demanding broad limits on our rights, while the other demanded protections of our rights.
My colleague Ryan Petty and gun control activist Fred Guttenberg are another example. Both of them are Parkland dads who suffered the unconscionable loss of their daughters. Yet, while Fred Guttenberg demands broad limits on our rights, Ryan has thoughtful policy prescriptions to address criminal misuse while leaving the original lowercase ‘r’ republican ideals of the American Constitution alone.
Let what Candace Lightner did with her founding of MADD be a guide. As she went after irresponsible, unlawful behavior that endangered others, I hope there are more women like Suzanna Hupp who go after the criminal misuse of guns, because going after the citizenry at large and chipping away an enumerated right will leave posterity in peril.
Read the full article here
