Who Comes to the Rescue When No One Can Beat the NRA?
Last month I published my first book called The Business of Good. The reviews have been pretty awesome and I’m excited about its reception. The tweets from readers around the world have been rewarding to receive. The book outlines what I see as a new path forward to creating a world that is better for our children. I explore how social entrepreneurs are disrupting business, philanthropy, and government — and identify the roots of this disruption as something I call The Great Convergence.
The way I see it, social entrepreneurs can come to the rescue and solve any problem. Where others see a challenge, they see a market. Where others see inefficiency, they see opportunity. Where others see stagnation they see a chance to innovate.
But there is something I don't talk about in my book. There’s no mention of guns.
Guns are killing us in America at a staggering rate. Our gun culture has made access to weapons so easy, that even terrorists reference this in their recruiting efforts.
You can be on the terror watch list — which means you cannot fly on a plane. But you can purchase a gun, even if you are suspected of being a terrorist. Seriously? Some people say that suspicion alone isn’t enough to deny someone the Constitutional right to bear arms. Some of those people happen to be US Senators who voted against a measure back in December that would have stopped those on such lists from buying, you know, guns that can kill people. Again, seriously? If its enough to keep them off a plane, it should be enough to keep them without arms.
The NRA has done it. No other lobby organization has this kind of chokehold on an issue, on the electorate and on our leaders. Their solution is more guns, enforce current law, and no infringement on the 2nd Amendment. I respect their zeal (i guess), although I totally disagree with everything they stand for. No one has been able to defeat them on major federal gun legislation since the passage of The Brady Bill. That was over 23 years ago.
This ease of access has given way to The Age of the Active Shooter. From high school loners to terrorists the Active Shooter is now part of our lexicon. The AR-15 is the weapon of choice for the Active Shooter. Lightweight, costing about as much as an unlocked iPhone, it is easy to fire, reload, and, well, fire again. They even have accessories that can be added onto the gun tha can be purchased at your local Walmart (or online if that’s even easier for you).
So, what do we do? By continuing on our path, all major gun legislation will be blocked. No compromise on common sense policies will be enacted. What will happen in Washington is nothing. But what will happen around the country will be deadly. It will happen again. And again. And again. And sooner or later, it will find its way to you. Or me.
And that’s where, maybe, a social entrepreneur can come in. They’ve taken on — and continue to take on — the biggest problems facing society today. Clean water, public health, microfinance, education, and job creation are only a handful of areas where they have made a real difference. There are millions of people living better, healthier, safer lives today, because of social entrepreneurs. If they can tackle these issues, can they also take on guns in America?
I admit, I don’t have the answer. I would love to urge Congress to introduce new legislation today. But what good will it do if it gets blocked by NRA proxies in office tomorrow?
We owe it to the victims of Orlando. And Aurora. To the children of Sandy Hook. And to all others who have lost their lives to Active Shooters and gun violence in our nation.
Someone needs to distrupt the status quo. So here’s a call to action for a group of people that are used to taking on the toughest fights. Social entrepreneurs, we have a gun problem in America. Go solve it.
