Your Move Rupert

M4 Semi-automaticYet another tragic massacre in US at the barrel of a gun(s) this time taking the lives of 20 of the most innocent and those of their carers, some of whom seemingly gave their lives protecting the children under their supervision, surely must instigate a shift in public policy and attitudes towards gun control in America.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) on the back of the second amendment to the constitution which gives citizens the ‘right to bear arms’ has become the most powerful lobby group in the country. The NRA’s influence has left generations of US politicians redundant to do anything about gun reform and with the highest gun ownership rate in the world - an average of 88 per 100 people, it’s not hard to see where the NRA gets its influence.

This influence coupled with the fanaticism of the right wing punditry who cry freedom and guns provides a loud and constant drone that stifles proponents of gun reform…most of the time. It is only when tragedy strikes, as it so often does in the US, that the voices of those wanting a serious discussion on gun reform are heard. One of those voices is the that of one Rupert Murdoch the head of News Corp and the owner of Fox News. Mr Murdoch tweeted shortly after the massacre: 

Terrible news today. When will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons?As in Oz after similar tragedy.

— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) December 15, 2012

He followed this tweet with:

Nice words from POTUS on shooting tragedy, but how about some bold leadership action?

— Rupert Murdoch(@rupertmurdoch) December 16, 2012

Well may I suggest that leadership is required at a number of levels and it is required nowhere more than at Fox News. The countless number of right wing commentators that adorn its programming on nightly basis shout down any talk of gun reform citing the second amendment, ignoring the outdated origins of the amendment and relying on the antiquated argument ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people.’

Well the fact of the matter is that people with guns kill people at an alarming rate and people with semi-automatic weapons such as the M4 used to murder in Newtown have the capacity to kill lots of people at the one time.

What practical purpose do such weapons have in the hands of civilians?

Mr Murdoch you and your empire has an opportunity to lead the discussion, to harness the anguish felt around the world and direct it into a meaningful policy debate. You ask whether political leaders have the courage to enact gun reform, but will you have the courage to cease appealing to the fears and paranoia of a nation addicted to guns. Fox News more than any other network speaks to heart of America's gun culture and has a chance to abandon the blind idealogy that has tarnished this debate over several generations.

That would take real leadership.

You have a role to play in this debate. Australia and other western nations show that gun reform can be undertaken. It never too soon after a tragedy to start the discussion not when there is an opportunity to save innocent lives when so many have been lost already.