On Wednesday night, the SMC Votes club held a “Discussion and Donuts” night to foster dialogue on the topic of gun control and policy.
The event included refreshments of donuts, coffee and hot chocolate and began with a presentation outlining gun registration and licensing policies in the U.S.
The presentation included a six-minute video produced by Vox titled “The gun solution we’re not talking about.” The video proposed requiring a firearm license process instead of the current registration process required in some states.
In the video, Vox reported that while a sweeping majority of Americans support universal background checks when it comes to purchasing a gun, “universal background checks won’t solve America’s gun crisis.” This is because there is only one, outdated database that is drawn from during these background checks, according to the video.
Policies utilizing a licensing system, which have been enacted in 12 states already, would implement a more comprehensive process to reduce the amount of potentially dangerous individuals purchasing firearms, the video said.
“This is something that has affected many individuals’ lives, and if it’s not directly, it’s been indirectly,” said SMC Votes co-president and political science major Jeanett Ochoa. “We just wanted to have a space where we could have discussions on our own opinions and what can be done.”
After watching the video and reviewing community guidelines for ensuring respectful discussion, the group talked about some of the issues they have observed with the current legislature regarding gun control and talked about solutions. Ochoa said two key issues surrounding gun violence are a lack of awareness about gun policies and restrictions from state to state, in addition to malicious intent from some gun owners.
Along with discussing policies and restrictions on firearm purchasing and use, the group mentioned other issues related to gun violence, such as school and mass shootings, suicide by firearm, police and border patrol brutality, weapons exports and the U.S. military budget.
Ochoa said students at Saint Mary’s College should care about standing up against gun violence.
“In a way, we all have our own different opinions and experiences when it comes to gun violence, but here we want to create that ... civil discussion, and it’s allowing a space for people to come and talk about this very [controversial and complex] situation,” she said.
Ochoa discussed the college’s longstanding tradition of promoting justice.
“If we’re talking historically, Saint Mary’s as an institution has been a strong advocate for justice, whether it’s been social justice or other forms, and even the nuns here at Saint Mary’s are major advocates about gun control and raising awareness about gun violence,” she said. “Therefore, it has that environment here for students to really care about justice.”
Along with getting involved in the the Sisters of the Holy Cross silent protests to end gun violence, which are held every first Saturday of the month at the College, Ochoa encouraged students to engage in discussion with their peers about gun violence and gun control.
“But ultimately it comes to organizing with other students and creating an action plan to try and maybe put measures or prevent gun violence as a whole,” she said.
Walking away from the “Discussion and Donuts” event, Ochoa said she is hoping students have a “better understanding of gun violence in the U.S. and how gun control is just something that a lot of people have been asking for for so many years … and leaving them [thinking]: ‘There’s just a lot of work to be done.’”
The club also previewed some of their topics of discussion in the coming semester, including book banning, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.
SMC Votes discusses gun control policies
SMC Votes hosted an iteration of their “Discussion and Donuts” series to discuss gun violence and gun control policies in the United States.
