An interview with a gunshop owner the day after Uvalde school shooting; why no mental health screening for gun buyers?

Today I will be recounting the day I had after the May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and for the sake of not giving a school shooter the satisfaction of landing their name in my article–I am going to jump right into it. I have faith you are all well aware of what I am talking about and the horrific details of the tragedy.

I woke up angry, embarrassed, confused, and, honestly, depressed. I called my mom in Indiana from my apartment in Florida, discussing the events in Texas; each of us knowing it’s not illogical to worry that something may soon happen near us.

“It is hard to be happy when things like this are happening all the time,” I told her.

“Well, yeah, but you can’t just sit around. You have to fight,” she said.

“I’m supposed to write about a road closure today, Mom,” I said, referencing my news reporting job. “How am I supposed to say anything is more important than what happened to those little children?”

“I get it,” she said. And that was that.

I laid on my bed for a while, frustrated and knowing damn well I would not be writing about the road closure; I’d be lucky if I was writing about anything. I wanted to lay on my bed with the lights off and say “whatever.” It seems easier that way–believing that you cannot actually do anything to change the world. But, how has anything ever changed before?

I thought about my mom telling me “I can’t just sit around,” that I needed to do something instead of giving in to the hopelessness that would have been much easier to sulk in. I knew laying in bed was not going to help me, nor anyone else.

I sat at my desk tapping my pencil anxiously against it with my mind jumping back and forth from one idea to the next. What can I do that will at least make me feel productive about this issue? I thought. I wanted to snap my fingers and fix everything instantly; I think we all want that to some capacity. But, we all have our own ideas of what a “fix” would look like. Then it hit me.

I want to understand the gun owner. I want to understand the people who are saying there should be zero changes to possessing a firearm in this country. I thought I was a good candidate for the job. A young woman who grew up with a father who hunted, believed in the right to self-defense, who could understand the passion of hunting or “if you kill it you eat it.”

I thought I was a good candidate for the job because, truthfully, I did want to understand. I wanted to ask the questions that immediately make me think we should have gun reform in this country, and I wanted to hear someone who does not believe in gun reform explain their logic to me.

So, I went to a gun shop in Clay County, Florida. A primarily conservative county where I spoke with a ‘Gun & Pawn’ store owner and manager for a little over two hours.

They both identify as libertarian and said that the main reason they believe no gun reformation should happen in the United States is that it is a constitutional right in the same way the freedom of speech and freedom of the press are.

They agree that children should not be dying at school and that they should be better protected. This means more security, and staff who are armed and trained to protect the building and the people in it. They think teachers should have the option of concealed carrying in the classroom.

When I asked them about mental health screenings, they went back and forth. They both agreed that insane asylums should never have been done away with, and if more people who “cry out for help” could be held there, it might minimize the number of mass killings.

The “cry out for help” part is in quotations because there was a lot of discussion about this. We all got to talking about how someone can be severely depressed, seek help, and change. They surely do not deserve to be kept in an asylum, right?

For some reason, they both felt a “mental” background check is unconstitutional and they would not like that. They argued that people can have good days and bad days and that should not determine whether someone should be able to have a gun.

Let it also be noted, that one cannot “concealed carry” if they have a medical marijuana card. This, to them, is not an infringement of constitutional rights, nor HIPAA rights.

This is where I got lost and, readers, I need your help.

I have intentions of returning to the shop to continue the conversation. I want to fully understand how a mental background check is not a plausible step in the right to own a gun. How is asking someone if they smoke weed a step we take in this country, but we don’t take the step to ask if the person is depressed, bipolar or schizophrenic?

If you have an answer to this or a different idea that is not commonly talked about in the realm of ‘mass shootings,’ please explain to me your perspective or idea. I am very, very curious to hear multiple perspectives on this platform!

I, however, am not arguing and I am not saying my thoughts or ideas are the only correct solution. Everything is up for speculation. As we go into this long weekend, I think we must each seek to find understanding in our communities. We cannot come up with answers for problems if we cannot all first agree that there is a problem. We can work together to find the best solution, but something’s gotta give.

Please–engage in this conversation with me and with one another. What comes to your mind? What do you think about when these topics are discussed? And, can you have these conversations in a way that is honest and respectful rather than rude and accusatory?

If so, please do so in the comments. I would love to discuss further with each of you. If you feel you might be inclined to come at someone else with anger or politics–please avoid taking part in the discussion.