The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Opinion
6 — Wednesday, July 6, 2022
BRANDON COWIT
Managing Editor
Stanford Lipsey Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
tothedaily@michigandaily.com
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.
VANESSA KIEFER
Editor in Chief
Democrats did the right thing by
choosing progress over perfection
O
n June 24, Congress passed
the most significant and
wide-ranging piece of gun
safety legislation in nearly 30 years.
A bipartisan group of senators
spearheaded the legislation, resulting
in a bill supported by 15 Republican
senators. It was an increasingly rare
instance of efficient and substantial
bipartisan legislation, on an issue
that many have long thought was
irreparably partisan. While the bill
does not go far enough in tackling gun
violence, it is more than many pundits
expected, and one that will hopefully
save many lives. It is to be celebrated,
commended and built upon.
While
the
legislation
was
naturally cast aside by many as
insubstantial, those behind the
curtains have shown it is anything
but. Most striking to me was that the
bill closed the boyfriend loophole,
which has been a key priority in
the state of Michigan, especially
for gun safety groups on campus,
and will help to clarify a current
law that prevents people convicted
of domestic abuse from being able
to own a gun. Until the passage of
this bill, a long-time partner in a
relationship who had been convicted
of
domestic
abuse
could
still
purchase a gun. That will be allowed
no longer, as this bill expands beyond
the current scope of spouses, live-in
partners and those who have a child
with the victim. That is a substantial
win and one which the Republican
Party has railed against for years.
Another key win is the $750
million that will go toward helping
states implement red flag laws.
These laws allow law enforcement
to temporarily take the guns of
individuals deemed dangerous to
themselves or their community.
These laws, too, have been a major
gripe for Republicans in the past, with
much of the party claiming them to
be a gross encroachment on Second
Amendment
rights.
Background
checks for those who are 18-21, the
age range which disproportionately
commits mass shootings, are being
substantially strengthened. The last
gun control measure is new penalties
for those who illegally buy guns for
individuals who otherwise would
not be able to obtain them as a result
of failing background checks.
The other aspect of the bill, and
the part that Republicans like to
emphasize the most, are measures
that
seek
to
address
mental
health and increase funding for
school safety. Republicans have
erroneously tried for years to claim
that mass shootings are almost, if
not completely, a result of these two
components in an attempt to prevent
even the slightest gun control
measures. Though off-base, many
Democrats are off-base as well when
they try to cast off these parts of the
bill completely.
Increasing funding for mental
health initiatives has benefits far
beyond curbing mass shootings, and
there have been cases where shooters
had mental ailments. The money
would also go toward school-based
mental health centers, suicide hotline
support and first aid programs.
Moreover, fortifying schools and
funding
anti-violence
programs,
especially those in underserved
communities that otherwise don’t
have the resources, is an equitable
positive. Though lax gun regulations,
an insane abundance of guns and a
cult-like institutional attachment to
gun rights nationwide are far and
away the main reasons the U.S. has
such unique problems, it doesn’t
mean legislators have to stop at
fixing those.
Beyond the fact that this is
the most substantial gun control
bill in close to three decades, it
is important to note the fierce
opposition that Congress was able
to overcome. The National Rifle
Association, which has effectively
had veto power over congressional
Republicans on gun-related issues
for decades, was decidedly against
the bill. Republican after Republican,
both at the grassroots and elected
levels, rallied fiercely against the
bill. From GOP state conventions
to the most powerful man in the
Republican Party, opposition to
any sort of participation in this bill-
writing process by Republicans was
dominant. Yet, good won out. The
NRA lost. The far-right lost.
In the wake of the Uvalde
shooting, gun control advocates
and legislators vowed this time
would be different. They vowed, as
they have fruitlessly done so many
times before, that inaction was not
a possibility. Those who have been
dismayed at what has become so
accepted as an inevitable normal in
this country, myself included, did not
expect these vows to come true. Yet
they did, and for that, we should be
grateful.
It
is
undeniable
that
this
legislation
doesn’t
come
close
to serving as a comprehensive
solution to gun violence. Popular
gun control measures still face
continued Republican opposition.
However, there is nothing worse
than doing nothing at all. We
live in an incrementalist country
with
institutional
barriers
that
make landmark legislation close
to impossible. Accepting nothing
because we don’t get everything is
nothing but selfish and short-sighted.
Democrats were able to take what
they could get, move on and continue
to fight for life-saving gun control
measures. Republicans, though few,
were finally able to muster the will
to put the lives of our country’s kids
ahead of the NRA and the gun lobby.
And for that, we celebrate; for that,
we can only hope this is just one
of many positive steps in the right
direction.
Devon Hesano is an Opinion
Columnist and can be reached at
dehesano@umich.edu.
QUIN ZAPOLI
Editorial Page Editor
COVID-19 has created a new
need to lie down for a bit
AMY EDMUNDS
Opinion Columnist
The true story behind
your $100 tank of gas
ANNA TRUPIANO
Opinion Columnist
T
ransportation
is
a
key
component of Americans’
daily lives. Of the 84.6% of
Americans licensed to drive, the
average travels a distance of 13,474
miles per year, or slightly over half
the circumference of planet Earth.
This half-globe journey ends up
costing Americans $1,262 per year in
gas and affects the vast majority of
drivers since less than 1% of the cars
on the road are electric.
With
gas
costs
normally
accounting for up to 3.12% of the
average American’s monthly income,
many of us have become easily
irritated at the ever-fluctuating
and sky high prices we’ve recently
seen at the pump. As of June 2022,
gas prices are up an alarming 61%
compared to one year ago.
Our
irritation
with
these
prices often leads to a search for
scapegoats, which in this case is
largely Russian President Vladmir
Putin, President Joe Biden and oil
companies. According to an ABC
News/Ipsos poll from April 2022,
71% of Americans blame Putin for
the current state of our gas prices,
51% blame Biden and 68% blame oil
companies. Only 20% of respondents
consider Biden to be blameless.
Despite this tendency to pinpoint
blame, an issue as multifaceted as gas
prices cannot be watered down to one
sole cause.
There are a couple factors that
play into the obnoxious number you
see on the meter. Even though we
are turning toward a greater state of
normalcy, the effects of COVID-19
have lingered. Oil producers were not
prepared for the somewhat sudden
reopening of the economy, and the
increased number of people driving
around again. This change led to a
high demand for gas paired with a
low supply of it — a basic economic
concept which explains the rise in
gas prices.
T
he symptoms and side effects
of COVID-19 are well known,
with scientists all over the
world having long studied the disease
that’s been plaguing our lives for the
last two years. But there’s one side
effect that isn’t very well documented
and that almost everyone has
experienced, whether they have
caught the virus or not. It seems that,
even more widespread than COVID-
19, people everywhere feel the
need to lie down for a bit. I’m being
satirical, of course, but I sincerely do
find myself having a newfound need
to take a break in between tasks, and
have gathered that I’m not the only
one suffering from this new “side
effect” of the pandemic.
Granted, everyone needs a rest
sometimes, or maybe even a little nap
here and there — but this is more than
being tired: it’s being physically and
mentally exhausted by minor tasks.
Before COVID-19 hit, my days were
absolutely full, with “busy” barely
covering it. I somehow fit what felt
like days’ worth of class, practices,
appointments and activities into 24
hours. My life was going 100 mph at
all times; I didn’t take breaks because I
simply didn’t have time for them.
Then
the
lockdowns
started.
Rather quickly, the entire world came
to a stop. And it became the pause in
life that I had so desperately needed.
Government orders to stay inside
and do nothing for two weeks? You
didn’t have to tell me twice. At first,
so used to the daily chaos of life, I
didn’t know what to do with myself.
With nowhere to be, I did a lot of
lying down during this time. “A nice
rest,” I thought before things picked
back up and I again had no time to
rest. But the pandemic continued, and
the lockdowns were extended, until
suddenly life had been paused for not
just two weeks but two years.
I stopped lying down to rest and
started lying down because there
was nothing else to do. I was bored.
Suddenly, everything was exhausting.
After each Zoom class I needed a rest.
Then making lunch became tiresome,
and soon I found that even lying down
tired me out, so that too required a rest
afterward.
Read more at michigandaily.com
Read more at michigandaily.com
DEVON HESANO
Opinion Columnist