Angry voters can trump special interests at the ballot box

When I need to make sense of the world, I often find clarity by talking to my grandchildren.

It happened last week when my 14-year-old stopped by to light the Sabbath candles and chat about how the week had gone.

The talk drifted to the clown therapy going on in Washington and I got worked up about the awful legacy my generation was leaving hers — climate change, disappearing jobs, gun violence, open racism, ugly cultural divides and mean-spirited tribal politics.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “We’ll get it worked out. We’re still a democracy.”

Her point was made a few days later when Florida’s Republican leadership defied the politically potent National Rifle Association and enacted meaningful gun controls under pressure from student survivors of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead.

After initially refusing to consider any gun limits under the usual threats from the NRA, Florida legislators raised the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21, created a three-day waiting period until a background check is done and banned bump stocks that make rifles fire faster.

The measure doesn’t include other measures sought by the students to ban military-style assault weapons such as the AR-15 used in recent mass shootings, nor does it strengthen background checks.

A provision to arm some school employees to deter shootings will probably cause more problems than it solves.

But that the legislature acted at all was a testament to democracy, as well as to the commitment, passion and dignity of the Parkland students, who have inspired a spreading movement in which students across the country — including Hawaii — will stage a 17-minute walkout on Wednesday to demand sensible gun controls.

Before the Parkland students stood tall, it was inconceivable that a red-state legislature would defy the NRA even with “baby steps.”

The focus now shifts to Washington, where President Donald Trump and Congress continue to toe the NRA line despite all evidence that easy access to military-grade weapons is a major contributor to normalizing the sick violence that leaves schoolyards strewn with the bullet-riddled bodies of our children.

Florida legislators also said “absolutely not” to gun control in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland shootings but were forced to act after surviving students reset the debate in a way that resonated with the voting public.

If the movement that started at Parkland gains strength and knocks off a few members of Congress who reside too deeply in the pocket of the gun lobby, Washington will feel the pressure to act, as well.

Because we are still a democracy, as my granddaughter says, aroused citizens who vote are more powerful than the threats of any monied lobbyists.

Reach David Shapiro at volcanicash@gmail.com.