More than millions marching will be needed

A skeptic though I am, I was impressed by the numbers of marchers and the number of marches by (mostly) young people Saturday to protest school shootings and advocate for stricter gun laws. Washington, D.C., was the primary focus of the marchers, but demonstrations were held all around the country and in foreign countries as well. Collectively, it was quite impressive.

I hope the protesters were not naive enough to think that their demonstrations will bring about immediate change in the form of federal restrictions on gun purchases, types of combat-style weapons that can be sold to the general public, and various efforts to make schools safe from deranged killers.

Although the numbers on the streets Saturday were impressive, soles on the pavement rarely sway those who hold the reins of power in Washington, or in state capitals. To succeed in their goals, these youthful protesters — some of them survivors of school shootings — will have to take actions that will directly influence votes on the Senate and House floors. That means putting political careers on the block by voting out those who oppose "sensible gun laws." Or it will mean buying their own members of Congress, as the National Rifle Association has done for years. The second alternative will be more difficult because of the deep pockets of the gun lobby.

To their credit, some demonstrators carried signs reading "Vote Them Out." That slogan epitomizes the real key to effecting change in Washington. Changing the minds or removing from office a majority of 535 members of the House and the Senate is no easy task. It will require organizing in all 50 states and in all 435 House districts. It will also require finding and supporting qualified and appealing alternative candidates to run against incumbents who can't be swayed.

The road to success will be treacherous. I heard a Fox News commentator claim that the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are "pawns" of a powerful, secret, unnamed organization that is financing and using the naive student protesters. Some Americans will believe that.

The path the change in Washington runs through the ballot box in thousands of precincts across the country. It will take millions of dollars and years of effort to shift Congress' perspective on gun regulations.

To gun loyalists who claim that cars kill more Americans than guns every year "so why not ban cars?" I remind them of some essential flaws in their analogy:
     ° Motor vehicle deaths are almost never deliberate acts. People are killed by cars in accidents, not preplanned, malicious acts.
     ° In order to operate a motor vehicle, you must have an operator's license issued by the state, certifying that you are competent to operate the vehicle and are responsible for any damage caused by your driving of the vehicle.
      ° All vehicles must be registered with the state and must meet federal regulations to ensure the vehicles are safe and cannot be easily stolen. Visible tags must be displayed so the vehicle can be easily identifiable and traced back to the owner. Unsafe vehicles can be removed from road.
      ° States require that vehicle owners have liability insurance on the vehicle that will cover the costs of any personal injury or property damage caused by the vehicle.

I suspect that Saturday's marchers would be happy if the state and federal governments would use automobile registration and regulation as a template for improving gun safety and eliminating school shootings. As for the gun lobby's canard opposing gun registration because it will lead to "confiscation," there is no proposal to "confiscate all guns." Gun ownership is not in danger. The Second Amendment as well as the Fourth would prohibit any confiscation proposal.