Katy Tur gets beyond the numbers to explain an important gun sentiment to a Democratic Senator.

Katy Tur used a form of personalization to bring an understanding of the severity of the gun issue to a reality enough people are not empathizing with to solve the issue ultimately.

Katy Tur uses a technique that bypasses ideology.

Katy Tur first pointed out that there were many more mass shootings in America than days in 2023 thus far. As she brought Senator Chris Murphy into the conversation, she pointed out a discussion she had with her child’s caretaker before she came to work.

“She started crying because she said she’s scared to go to a playground,” Tur said. “There was a shooting at the playground around the corner from my house recently. She says she’s scared to walk down the street. She says she’s scared to get on the subway. She says she’s scared to go to the supermarket. And we are here in New York City where comparatively gun violence is much less than in some other places around the country, the Red States in particular, where it’s much higher according to the statistics, not anyone’s opinion.”

She then asked the Senator the most prescient question.

“What do we say to people who feel like their own rights to feel safe in their communities,” Katy said. “To live their lives are being infringed upon by people who are demanding unfettered access to deadly violent weapons like AR-15s or AR-15 style rifles?”

The Senator’s answer was inadequate. While Democrats like Murphy are hamstrung by Republicans’ refusal for any action on guns, they could be more effective with the narrative as Katy was above. He points out the reality that as a fraction of the population, even with the level of mass shootings, it is unlikely to affect any one person. The randomness of these occurrences, however, makes these acts a form of terrorism. And that our politicians do not approach it that way is concerning. They have allowed freedom and the 2nd Amendment to reign.

Katy’s initial statement about the fear of doing everyday activities and the infringement of the freedoms of all to appease the abuse of a sentence in the Constitution for the few is irresponsible. It is a dereliction of duty of all our leaders that they do not ban these weapons and execute much stricter overall gun control.

---

We work extremely hard to research and seed the internet with truthful, fact-based information to counter the misinformation from the Right and others who would have us vote against our interests. Corporations and billionaires ensure the Right-Wing & MAGA are well funded. We have you, our grassroots. Please support us today.