There’s no mystery why shootings are soaring in NC cities.

For some reason there is uncertainty about why shootings have soared in North Carolina and across much of the nation.

Some point to school closings and loss of after-school and summer programs during the pandemic. Some say it’s a consequence of police stepping back after the Black Lives Matter protests. Others wonder if it reflects a rise in hostility brought on by the isolation and frustrations of COVID, the same conditions that are blamed for more reckless driving and misbehavior by airline passengers.

No doubt there’s merit to those possible explanations, but they are secondary to the obvious one: If you pump more guns into a society, there will be more shootings.

The arrival of the pandemic and protests over George Floyd’s killing spurred a surge in people buying guns. Nationally, gun sales rose by 65 percent in 2020 to a record of nearly 23 million guns – many of them sold to first-time buyers. Texas, with seven gun sales per 100 adults, led the nation. Not surprisingly, the Lone Star State is experiencing a sharp increase in road rage shootings.

Fortunately, the newly or additionally armed didn’t need the weapons to hold off marauding looters in a world turned lawless and desperate by plague and protests. However, many legal gun owners did create a hazard to public safety themselves by losing their guns to thieves, often by leaving their firearms unsecured in a vehicle.

The Center for American Progress published an analysis in March 2020 that showed that across the U.S. 1.8 million guns were stolen from individuals between 2012 and 2017, including 97,467 in North Carolina. The number of annual gun thefts is likely higher today. In Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, for instance, 1,099 guns were reported stolen in the first nine months 2021, an increase of 36 percent over the prior year, according to police data reviewed by WCNC Charlotte.

Stolen guns end up too often end up in the hands of teenagers and young men who use them because they have them. That’s feeding a rising toll. As of last week in Raleigh, 34 people have been shot, a 100 percent increase over the same time last year. In Durham, 16 people have died by gunfire so far this year, with five killed in one recent week. A one-day gun buyback in Durham brought in nearly 100 guns.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department reports that the overall homicide rate is flat, but that teens with guns are a growing threat. This academic year, more than 20 guns have been found on the campuses of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein told me that reducing gun violence will take action from police and communities, but gun owners also must also play a role.

“I support people’s constitutional right to have a gun, but when you have that gun, make sure it’s locked up. If it’s at home, it needs to be in a safe. If it’s in a car, it needs to be in a secure lock box,” he said. “What we have seen is a dramatic increase in the number of juveniles being arrested for firearm theft in the last couple of years.”

In North Carolina, the increase in shootings should be generating a stronger call to protect the public. Instead, many Republican leaders are more interested in protecting gun sales. And now the Republican Party appears poised to nominate a gun store owner, Rep. Ted Budd, to replace retiring Sen. Richard Burr, himself a leading beneficiary of the National Rifle Association’s political spending.

It’s clear that the steep increase in shootings won’t budge the Republican Party from its iron-embrace of gun rights and the gun industry. Nonetheless, voters need look no further than Democratic legislation stalled in Congress for what’s needed. Among the proposals are expanded background checks, removing limits on the civil liability of gun manufacturers and increasing research on firearms safety and gun violence prevention.

When you’re in a hole, stop digging. When shootings soar, put more controls on the sale of guns and educate gun owners about keeping their firearms out of the hands of children and criminals.