Patton: A Perfect Storm Of Gun Deaths In Orlando

The conditions could not have been more ominous. Omar Mateen, a self-proclaimed and self-radicalized ISIS fighter intent on killing homosexuals, entered the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando carrying a Sig Sauer MCX AD semi-automatic weapon and a Glock handgun. The room was jam- packed with 300 revelers in the early morning hours of last Saturday night. Mateen opened fire, and after more than 50 shots, 49 party goers lay dead and another 53 were injured.

These mass killings repeat themselves in the United States with horrifying regularity. Perhaps, the most frustrating aspect of this dilemma is that nothing, absolutely nothing, is done by Republicans in Congress to reduce the slaughter. As President Obama said, "We have to decide if that's the kind of nation we want to be. To actively do nothing is a decision as well."

Well, what can we do to reduce this senseless carnage? Let's look at the problem the same way we look at automobile deaths - we can significantly reduce them using appropriate safety measures, but it is unrealistic to think we can totally eliminate them.

Did the FBI do a bad job of surveilling Mateen? He was twice called in for questioning about alleged ISIS sympathies, but, on both occasions, he was released for lack of evidence.

It is easy to scapegoat the FBI. If it had looked further would it have detected the danger that Mateen posed? Think about it. The FBI is faced with the Herculean task of keeping track of thousands of potential terrorists intermingled with 323 million Americans. Once in a while, the FBI will make a mistake.

Mateen appeared at first glance to be a pretty unremarkable guy. He was a United States citizen (Donald Trump incorrectly claimed he was from Afghanistan) , having been born in New York City. He grew up in Florida going to high school there and earning an associate's degree in criminal justice from Indian River State College in 2006. For the past nine years, Mateen had been employed as a security guard, most recently by G4S Secure Solutions. He showed no particular antagonism toward law enforcement, having taken several selfies where he wore a New York Police Department t-shirt. Since Mateen had no criminal record, he had no trouble buying guns.

No red flags so far. No wonder the FBI missed him. Can the FBI do a better job? Sure, it can. Who can't? But the public pays much more attention to successful terrorist attacks than it does the many occasions when the FBI prevents them in the first place.

What have we learned? That apparently normal people can carry out appalling criminal acts, so it is extremely difficult to predict who will and who won't become a terrorist. Are there other ways to reduce gun deaths, particularly those caused by terrorists?

How about a really obvious one? Pass legislation outlawing the sale of semi-automatic weapons. Had Mateen not had one, the loss of life at the Pulse would have been dramatically lower. It was his ability to shoot a high number of bullets in a short period of time that was so devastating. Semi-automatic weapons were also used by terrorists in San Bernardino, California where 14 were killed and by a teenager in Newtown, Connecticut where 26 small children and some of their teachers died. Semi-automatics are a menace.

All it takes is courage on the part of legislators to pass laws outlawing assault weapons, such as the Sig Sauer MCX AD. In a stunning display of selfishness and egocentrism, many lawmakers refuse to do so because they are more concerned about getting contributions from the gun lobby and winning their next election than they are preserving the lives of their constituents.

The massacre in Orlando did little to change the mind of presidential candidate Donald Trump who has vowed to defend his interpretation of the Second Amendment to his death (or more likely the deaths of other Americans). Trump blames the whole thing on foreign terrorists, conveniently forgetting that the deaths of the vast majority of the 30,000 Americans who are killed by guns each year are due either to themselves or other Americans.

Katy Tur notes. "Trump's real-time reaction to tragedy offers a rare and telling glimpse into the mind of the candidate. Tragedy after tragedy, Trump has quickly pivoted from the appearance of mourning to self-aggrandizement or petty attacks." (NBC News, 6/13/2016).

Hillary Clinton spoke about a related gun problem . "This morning on CNN Clinton called for 'common sense gun safety reform ,' putting her weight behind stalled (Stalled in the Republican-controlled congress? No surprise there) congressional legislation that would prevent Americans on the no-fly list from purchasing weapons. . .

"'And yes if you're too dangerous to get on a plane, you're too dangerous to buy a gun in America,' she added. " (The Daily Mail [UK], 6/13/2016)

Sandro Galea writes, " When will we say 'enough'? Just this year, there have been 133 verified mass shootings in the United States. (Boston Globe, 6/13/2016).

That day will come when politicians realize that it is more hazardous to their careers to oppose common-sense, gun safety laws , like a ban on assault weapons, than it is to support them. How many more will they let die before that day arrives?

Gary Patton is the author of two books, Selling Mt. Washington, a political satire, and Outtastatahs: Newcomers' Adventures in New Hampshire, a work of regional humor.