By: Stephanie Ferguson
Anybody on social media or with a TV can see the rise of gun violence and mass shootings have risen dramatically throughout the year. In the United States, there have been 476 mass shootings (defined as attacks that injures or kills at least 4 people excluding the shooter) and as of this year, and is set to surpass the record of 686 incidents in 2021 (vox.com). After the mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde Texas last year, Congress finally agreed on limited gun reforms. The Uvalde, Texas shooting induced the death of nineteen children who were in fourth grade and two adults; and only after these people died and many more, we decided to agree on gun reforms.(abcnews.go.com).
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-01-19/U-S-mass-shootings-Will-2020-be-any-different--NnmczjtIvC/index.html
Although there have been gun reform proposals, we’ve noticed that gun violence has done nothing but increased. For example, the bill that was signed in the summer of 2022 is named the “Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill”. This bill “expands background checks for prospective gun buyers between the ages of 18 and 21, expands an existing law that prevents people convicted of domestic abuse from owning a gun, includes funds to encourage states to create so-called red flag laws that would allow entities to petition a court to remove guns from anyone deemed to be a threat to themselves or others, and funds school safety measures and mental health” (Gun Reform, Ocasio Cortez; New York Times, 2022). The Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill, is a step in the right direction but nowhere close to where we need to be in order to create an impact on decreasing gun violence. In my opinion, this bill merely enforces gun laws that were obviously not being enforced anyways, and did the bare minimum to so-called “reform gun safety.” As if the “reforms” were only to make people happy that Congress at least did something.
As of 2023, 27 states have passed a law that allows citizens to carry a handgun without a permit (thetrace, 2023). Many states have been relaxing gun permit laws since 2014, and studies have shown that from 2014-2020 states with relaxed gun laws showed an increase of 12.9 officer-involved shootings (Center for American Progress, 2022). Another recent study showed that states with concealed carry laws significantly increase homicides by firearms.(Rand, 2023).
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2019/08/harvard-professor-of-health-policy-discusses-gun-violence-in-the-wake-of-two-u-s-mass-shootings/
These gun laws truly have an effect on everyone, the amount of American citizens we’ve lost to gun violence is truly embarrassing and upsetting. The urgency to make an effective call to action about gun violence from federal officials contradicts our very foundation of protecting all U.S. citizens. It is frustrating to see that our Supreme Court, Congress and many State Officials are all opposed to common sense gun laws and policies. Until evidence-based gun reform policies are enacted to protect all people on a federal level, we will continue to see the rise of gun violence and mass shootings in America.
Sources:
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-shooter-exhibited-warning-sign-expert/story?id=87064502
https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/legislation/gun-reform#:~:text=The%20bill%20expands%20background%20checks,court%20to%20remove%20guns%20from
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/25/us/politics/gun-control-bill-biden.html
https://www.thetrace.org/2023/05/permitless-carry-gun-laws-states-map/#:~:text=Though%20most%20states%20have%20permitless,exceptions%20like%20Florida%20and%20Texas
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/fact-sheet-weakening-requirements-to-carry-a-concealed-firearm-increases-violent-crime/#:~:text=Relaxing%20restrictions%20on%20civilians%20carrying,increase%20in%20officer-involved%20shootings
https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy/key-findings/what-science-tells-us-about-the-effects-of-gun-policies.html
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