The recurring nightmare of mass shootings in the United States is part of a much grislier reality. In 2015, while 476 people died in mass shootings, the total number of gun deaths was 13,286. The US leads in gun deaths by a wide margin compared to other advanced nations; and yet, while, other countries have passed strong regulations to successfully contain gun deaths, our political establishment, slavishly succumbing to electoral calculus and corporate power, refuses to take action.

But surprisingly, even as there are finally stirrings of a social movement challenging this status quo, a section of the Left remains indifferent to, or actively opposes, gun control legislation. Some of the objections come from the concern that implementation of such laws will be necessarily racialized. Better, therefore, to address the racist and misogynistic culture that fuels violence. Others, subscribing to notions of armed self-defense and resistance, resist the idea of disarming people.

But it’s time for us to catch up with popular outrage and support robust gun control.