Taking stock of gun violence

In July 2012 I was working at a conference for children and teenagers who stutter and their parents in Aurora, Colorado. After a full day of workshops, panel discussions and open mic sessions a group of teens got permission to go to the midnight premiere of the latest Batman movie at a multiplex theater near the hotel. It was on that night that James Holmes entered one of the theaters and emptied multiple rounds from four guns into the audience, killing 12 people and injuring 60 others. Bullets passed through the wall of the adjoining theater where our group was and wounded one of them.

The following hours were fraught with chaos, shock and panic by parents and conference organizers as the news of the shooting reached us in the early morning hours. Police, firefighters, and medical teams had taken the murdered and wounded to five area hospitals and triaged the remaining 1,200 theatergoers into groups to be interviewed at a local high school. It would be hours before we knew whether our kids were safe, or among the wounded and dead. It is something I will never forget and that I revisit every time there is yet another mass shooting of children in our country. And it can happen in Iowa.

Feb. 1—7 marks the fifth annual National Gun Violence Survivors Week. The date marks the approximate time that gun deaths in the United States surpass the number of gun deaths experienced by peer countries in an entire calendar year. Gun violence in any form leaves an indelible mark on the lives of those who are personally impacted. Gun violence changes lives every single day — whether someone has witnessed an act of gun violence, been threatened, or wounded with a gun, or had a loved one wounded or killed with a gun. Anyone who has personally experienced gun violence is a survivor — and to our deep shame we have become a nation of survivors.

In Iowa, the rate of gun deaths increased 56 percent from 2011 to 2020 compared to a 33 percent increase nationwide (everystat.org). And every year, over 500 people are wounded by guns in the state. Most shooting victims survive, but many face a long ordeal of pain and medical care that collectively costs patients, hospitals, and governments billions of dollars each year. In Iowa, gun violence costs $4.2 billion each year, of which $53 million is paid for by taxpayers. It’s hard to imagine that death, injury, trauma, and cost from gun violence will decrease in Iowa since the Legislature has steadily gutted gun safety laws -even as most of our citizens support sensible legislation. Add to this the recent passing of an amendment to our state constitution that will undoubtedly close the door on sensible laws.

National Gun Violence Survivors Week is a time to take stock of the terrible human toll of America’s gun violence crisis — and recommit to supporting survivors with action. Read and listen to their stories at momentsthatsurvive.org. Listen to survivors you know, or share your own story. We cannot, and must never, look away.

Patricia Zebrowski is professor emerita from the University of Iowa, who came to Iowa City three years before a UI student used a gun to kill five people and seriously injure a student before committing suicide.

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