Increased Shootings Prompt Gun Safety Discussion

There will be an interfaith round table discussion about gun violence in Allison Community Room from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Dec. 2. It will be followed by a kosher Panera bagel brunch with cream cheese, eggs, orange juice and potatoes.  The event is intended to generate understanding around the polarization of gun legislation in politics as well as provide a platform for students to genuinely communicate with each other.

The discussion “was already in the works at the time of the shooting [near campus two weeks ago]” said Matt Berman’18, the student organizer of the event. “Recent events provide just one more example of just how important it is that we have this discussion now.”

“Dickinson does not operate in a bubble,” Berman said, “Part of preparing students for the common good is preparing them to operate in a democracy. Students should want to come to this event because it will present a different series of viewpoints on one of the most preventable issues today, one that nearly every other advanced nation has eradicated.”

“We have needed to have this discussion since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012,” said Berman. “Since that time, we have seen over 14 mass shootings in the United States, on top of the more than 32,000 people who die annually from either murder or suicide.”

According to Sergeant Wm David Miller from the Carlisle Police Department Office of Professional Standards, Carlisle citizens have reported hearing “shots fired” 99 times within the year.  “It should be noted, however, that most of those were found to be causes other than firearms… In reality, actual instances when a gun was confirmed to have been fired would be less than 20,” said Miller. “Overall, I would say that the rate of gun violence has probably been steady with no real increase or decrease here in Carlisle.”

“The Carlisle Police Department takes any acts of violence or potential for violence very seriously,” Miller said. “We also thoroughly investigate any thefts of firearms, loaning of firearms, straw purchases, etcetera in the hope of apprehending suspect(s) BEFORE the weapons can be used. Just as importantly, we strive to work with the community to identify situations which might escalate into violence.”

The interfaith conversation is meant to be “interactive and informative,” said Berman, with a “brief overview on why gun legislation is so polarized, as opposed to many other public health problems” and “religious leaders [who] will then talk about how their religions view violence, and action as a part of the healing process.” He continued, “We will be breaking up in between sessions to carry out small group discussions on questions from each group, questions written by religious life student leaders, and those posed by presenters.”

“We wanted to offer a different educational setting to talk together,” said Rabbi Ilyse Kramer, one of the speakers for the event, “not to talk at each other, but rather, with each other. Not to divide up into sides and argue, but to honestly listen to the words, faces and experiences of fellow students…these issues of gun violence and protection burn into our own lives as well as society, sometimes every night, as we turn on the news.”

“Now is the time to have this conversation,” said Berman, “because gun violence is a public health issue that effects over 100,000 people across America each year, and those people deserve our time…We can never get back the lives lost to gun violence, but we can make an impact to prevent more lives from being lost.”