In 1981, an assassin shot President Ronald Reagan and his press secretary, James Brady. The wound to Brady’s head left him with permanent brain damage. For the next twelve years, Republicans resisted a federal gun reform law in his name—the Brady Bill—until it finally passed in 1993. The law required a handgun buyer to wait five days while authorities conducted a background check before transferring the firearm. Despite the law’s moderate nature, the National Rifle Association and gun-rights advocates held such sway over Reagan that he publicly opposed the bill bearing his press secretary’s name.

Since 1981, gun homicides in the United States have steadily risen. America now ranks among the highest in the world in gun-related deaths, despite its wealth and resources. While both parties claim to want safer communities, gun policy remains one of the deepest divides in American politics. Democrats often frame the issue around mass shootings at schools, churches, and nightclubs, while Republicans emphasize the constitutional right to self-defense. Both perspectives carry truth—but the inability to bridge them has paralyzed progress for decades.

According to Gallup, conservative Republican men are the most likely group in the United States to own guns, while Hispanic Democratic women are the least likely. Pew Research Center data from 2017 found that about 30 percent of Americans own a gun and 41 percent live in a household with one. Two-thirds of gun owners say “protection” is the primary reason they own firearms. These numbers reveal something crucial: guns, for many Americans, are not about violence or rebellion—they’re about safety, identity, and freedom.

Polls also show that Americans agree on more than they realize. A 2019 Pew survey found that 60 percent of Americans support stricter gun laws, and 71 percent favor banning high-capacity magazines. Majorities in both parties—91 percent of Democrats and 92 percent of Republicans—support preventing people with mental illness from buying guns. Likewise, 93 percent of Democrats and 82 percent of Republicans support background checks for gun show sales. Yet despite this common ground, only 47 percent of Americans believe stricter gun laws will actually reduce mass shootings. Among Republicans, two-thirds say it won’t make a difference.

Part of the impasse stems from how Democrats talk about guns. When they invoke foreign countries as models for gun control, they overlook America’s unique relationship with firearms—rooted in its frontier past, popular culture, and self-reliant ethos. For many, gun ownership isn’t just a right; it’s a symbol of personal freedom. Democrats rarely acknowledge that reality, focusing instead on gun violence’s toll. Even the language they use—“gun control”—feels punitive to many gun owners. A shift toward “gun safety” could reframe the conversation around responsibility, not restriction.

Republicans, for their part, often see Democrats as hostile to their way of life. A 2020 Pew survey found that 60 percent of Republicans considered gun policy an important voting issue, and with over 70 million people voting for Donald Trump that year, roughly 42 million voters weighed this issue heavily at the ballot box. In swing states decided by narrow margins, that intensity can shape national outcomes. Decades of messaging on the topic has deepened the distrust.

To change the narrative, Democrats should start by affirming what many Americans need to hear: they support the Second Amendment. They believe responsible, law-abiding citizens have the right to own guns. The goal is not confiscation—it’s protection. The party should focus on pragmatic steps most Americans already support: universal background checks, safe-storage requirements, red-flag laws to temporarily remove weapons from those who pose a threat, and improved mental health services. These are not radical ideas; they are practical ones that could save lives.

Gun violence in America will not end through bans or fearmongering, but through collaboration. Democrats need to respect gun owners as partners in safety, not opponents. They should make clear that no one wants to take away home-defense pistols—but that no parent should have to worry about a child dying in a classroom, and citizens should not live in fear at a concert or supermarket.

Reagan survived his shooting, but that day marked the beginning of a different kind of attack—one on meaningful gun reform. Forty years later, it’s time to revive that conversation with empathy and reason. Reducing gun violence in America won’t come from silencing one side. It will come from listening to both.