It can seem as though there is a new instance of a mass shooting in the news every day. In the past few months, shootings at The Covenant School in Nashville and in Louisville, Kentucky killed several innocent civilians, including children. Such appalling violence has sparked many to call on lawmakers to pass legislation to lessen the chance of these acts recurring, but many differ on the right way to combat this pervasive issue.
In March of this year, a shooter entered The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, firing at random and killing six people, including three nine-year old children. The next month, at the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, a former employee opened fire, killing five and injuring eight others. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 165 mass shootings in 2023, defined as an event where “four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter.” In 2020, firearms were the leading cause of death for American children, surpassing motor vehicle incidents. Shootings like these evoke strong emotion as they display senseless violence which often affects the most innocent in the population, like schoolchildren or the elderly. They also generate a desire in many for government action to limit such deplorable acts, but many disagree on the best way to approach an issue with a wide variety of factors involved.
Perpetrators of these shootings often are found to have been suicidal or lacking purpose as a result of traumatic pasts. Many believe that the focus on firearms surrounding the discussion of gun violence policy distracts from the deeper struggles that the individuals who commit these crimes face and that people with mental struggles and desire to commit violence will find their way to weapons regardless of restrictions that could be imposed by the government. In the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act which passed in the U.S. Senate and House in June of last year, money was allotted to strengthen mental health resources in schools and communities in order to quell the growing mental health crisis in America, keeping with the idea that violence prevention policy should focus on mental health.
Others argue that access and safety training with firearms can be an effective means of stopping such violence and that restrictions on guns infringe on one’s individual liberties, particularly on those laid out in the Second Amendment. Some have suggested that greater police presence should be employed in schools in order to stop potential perpetrators from initiating violence.
Others take up a different perspective on the issue, viewing the firearms themselves as the primary cause of such violence. Policies like red flag laws have been suggested as a remedy, legislation that allows individuals to petition a court to remove firearms from those believed to be mentally unstable or at risk of committing violence. Some have gone further by suggesting that semi-automatic firearms, which are often used in mass shootings, should be banned altogether as alternative weapons exist that can fulfill the needs of an average American citizen. Opponents to such policy argue that they would promote government overreach into citizen’s behavior and that semi-automatic firearms are used by many for hobbies like hunting and target practice.
While the issue of gun policy remains complex and divisive, it is clear that lawmakers must come together to craft meaningful policy to mitigate this violence. The appalling nature of these mass shootings have brought some divided lawmakers together to discuss how to limit these acts from recurring. It will be of benefit to our society to continue to discuss this issue without becoming desensitized to this violence or allowing it to become normal and acceptable.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/14/what-is-a-red-flag-law/
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/26/1101274322/uvalde-ar-15-style-rifle-history-shooter-mass-shooting
https://www.npr.org/2022/04/22/1094364930/firearms-leading-cause-of-death-in-children
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/methodology
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/us/politics/senate-gun-safety-bill.html
Photos:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/multiple-casualties-reported-shooting-downtown-louisville-police-2023-04-10/
https://abc11.com/alabama-mass-shooting-dadeville-in-party/13142193/