The shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses are the most recent reminder that political violence is on the rise. Elected officials, candidates and activists must dial back the heated rhetoric that recklessly inflames passions.

Police responded swiftly and likely prevented even more deaths in Minnesota and neighboring states. The alleged shooter had a notebook with the names of other elected officials.

The two lawmakers had listed their home addresses on their official websites. No doubt elected officials nationwide have already scrubbed such personal data from their own sites.

This tragic incident joins a disturbing list of politically charged attacks in recent years targeting both Democrats and Republicans.

An arsonist set fire to the Pennsylvania governor’s mansion. Another attacked Jews at a Boulder, Colorado, rally with Molotov cocktails and a flamethrower. A gunman killed two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington. Two would-be assassins targeted President Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign. An intruder brutally beat the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home. Police arrested an armed man carrying zip ties outside Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s home.

Political violence is not restricted to solo actors. The Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and destructive protests in cities across the country show that groups can turn violent, too.

Reuters has documented more than 300 incidents of political violence since 2021, and that doesn’t include threats of violence that chill political speech and worry elected officials.

“We’re all getting death threats pretty regularly, and violent threats,” Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, told Politico.

America has not seen anything like this since the 1960s and 1970s. Then, assassins killed President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The Weather Underground conducted a bombing campaign against government buildings across the country.

Too often, politically engaged people portray their adversaries not as fellow Americans with different ideas but as existential threats to democracy itself. When they describe political opponents as traitors, communists or fascists, they risk inspiring unstable individuals to take matters into their own hands.

Too many partisans have forgotten that disagreement is healthy in a democracy. Competing visions and ideals lead to innovation, growth and compromise.

Political leaders must police their own rhetoric and challenge dangerous language from their allies. Media outlets must resist the temptation to amplify inflammatory voices to generate clicks and ratings. Most importantly, voters must reject candidates who ground their campaigns in demonizing the other side rather than promoting solutions.

Following the Minnesota shootings, California Senate President pro Tempore Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, and Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, R-San Diego, condemned political violence in a bipartisan statement. “The immutable truth is that there is no place for political violence in a democracy — none. No cause, no grievance, no election justifies the use of fear or force against our fellow human beings,” they said. “Let us never forget — we’re Americans first and we’re better than this. This nation must choose a different path.”

It remains to be seen whether their fellow Democrats and Republicans are willing to make that choice.

Written by the Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial board.