Fortunately, there wasn’t a copycat mass shooting on Saturday to grotesquely mark the 25th anniversary of the Columbine massacre on April 20, 1999. But just as we can be certain there will be another solar eclipse, it’s only a matter of time before a hail of bullets will block out the sun for another community somewhere in America. What’s also true? Expect the shooter to be male, probably white.
Author: Rob Okun
Rob Okun (rob@voicemalemagazine.org), syndicated by PeaceVoice, writes about politics and culture. He is editor-publisher of Voice Male magazine.
Will Men Organize to End Gun Violence?
It’s been six years since the Valentine’s Day massacre of 14 students and three teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and gun violence remains as virulent a disease as ever, with regular new outbreaks in states across the country.
Like many debates about social conditions in the U.S., too many men remain silent, rarely weighing in, whether the issue is mass shootings, women’s reproductive rights or the climate emergency. What if, in this critically important election year, men organized themselves as men to speak out?
Bringing Domestic Violence Victims Back to Life
The first mass shooting of the modern era occurred in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 1, 1966. Before police killed him, Charles Whitman would be responsible for the murder of 17 and the wounding of 31. But the tower murders weren’t the beginning of the carnage.
The night before, while his mother and wife were sleeping, he had already stabbed them to death. Coverage of the campus massacre virtually eclipsed the women’s stories. But Unheard Witness: The Life and Death of Kathy Leissner Whitman, by Jo Scott-Coe, aims to change that.
Wanted: More Fathers on the Front Lines of Social Change
Moms have long employed their moral authority as a parent to advance the social good. Where are the fathers and grandfathers?
A New Texas Two-Step for Uvalde and Beyond
One year after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, officials are still ducking and weaving; still doing little to curb easy access to guns throughout the state.
With mass shootings a weekly occurrence, we cannot overlook who the murderers are: almost exclusively white men. Men must join the movement to advance life-saving gun control measures. It is the least we can do to honor the memories of those murdered in Uvalde, and all the other victims and survivors of American gun violence.
Josh Hawley’s New Book on Manhood Is Wrong on Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
Ideas about men and manhood have been evolving for more than 50 years, but Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has not gotten the message. His new book, Manhood: Finding Purpose in Faith, Family, and Country ignores the realities of today’s men—more and more of whom are abandoning traditional expressions of masculine culture. Support among younger men for women’s reproductive rights, for gay and trans rights, for voting rights, is especially on the rise.
Fifty years ago, Hawley may have sold a lot of books. Today, I’m betting they’ll be remaindered by the Fourth of July.
Bipartisan Momentum Builds Against Guns and in Defense of U.S. Children
When a conservative former Republican member of Congress and governor, like John Kasich, urges citizens take to the streets to force politicians to pass gun laws with teeth, you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind’s blowing.
And Now They Want to Arm Our Children?
In addition to schools being where you might find victims of shootings, it’s also where you can likely now turn to find a new crop of shooters, courtesy of the gun lobby.
Get ready for the Wee 1 Tactical JR-15 Rifle, designed specifically for children.
Is Male Birth Control Finally at Hand?
With the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade severely curtailing women’s reproductive rights, it might seem an odd moment to report good news about male birth control. Nevertheless, researchers recently announced that male birth control trials with mice were wildly successful—99 percent effective at preventing pregnancy.
Depending on the result of human trials, the drug could soon be the first effective form of birth control for those with testes apart from condoms or vasectomies. Why has it taken so long?
It’s Time to Launch ‘Dads Demand Action to Raise Healthy Boys’
There’ll be time enough for backyard barbeques once fathers take the lead in establishing “Dads Demand Action to Raise Healthy Boys,” following in the footsteps—a decade late—after “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense,” launched the day following the mass murders at Sandy Hook.
Think about what it could mean to transform Father’s Day from a commercial holiday to a call to action centered on raising boys. To date, fathers and mentors, uncles and coaches have rarely been organized as a group; we’re an untapped force for good that could also become a new voting bloc. Call us say, soccer dads.