I have written about school shootings and other mass shootings a few times here. I don’t like to write about it because I don’t know what to say that hasn’t been said. And I have been lucky because I haven’t been personally affected by a shooting or have had any friends or family in one. There have been close calls, such as a friend who was supposed to be at the Las Vegas music festival but had to stay home because they were sick. But at this point, being in my situation is a rarity.
And every time there is a shooting, we seem to repeat the same pattern. So many people say they want common sense gun reform such as making sure that people who buy guns are mentally stable and of age (similar to what is required to drive a car) or banning assault rifles. And banning assault rifles isn’t something new. This was the policy until it expired. And after it expired, the number of mass shootings increased so much. I will admit I didn’t quite understand why assault rifles were so much worse than regular guns as I’m not a gun owner. But this interactive article from the Washington Post details how injuries from these guns differ.
And then there are some people and politicians who feel like a mass shooting means we need more guns or believe that any policies on gun ownership are against the second amendment. The second amendment also says that it should be within a well-regulated militia. I think being well-regulated should mean that guns are not a free for all and are regulated. And we’ve seen shootings where there are others at that location with a gun and it’s been proven that a good guy with a gun does not mean they could stop a shooting. Some people who have guns are not trained and they could cause additional deaths or injuries. We’ve seen examples of school shootings where armed security on campus didn’t stop things or when dozens of police officers are just sitting and waiting while a gunman is inside causing damage. I don’t know if they were waiting because they were scared or if they felt there was another reason why they shouldn’t help, but if having dozens of trained professionals with guns doesn’t stop the deaths, I don’t know how even more guns would help. I’ve heard people say we need 4-5 armed security officers at every school to keep kids safe, but who is going to pay for that? Schools don’t have money to buy supplies or have a full staff, so where will these millions or billions come from? The people who say that will say anything other than common sense gun control, even though it appears the majority of the country wants that.
And I understand that not everyone with a gun is a risky person. There are people who keep their guns locked up and not in the reach of anyone who shouldn’t have it. And those people tend to agree about putting in regulations to keep everyone safer. If someone has a mental illness where they seem to want to do harm to others or if they have a violent history such as domestic violence, I don’t feel like they should have free access to guns and most people I know agree with me. And if someone is a gun owner and they don’t properly store those guns and minors get access to them, I think those parents should have some sort of penalty for that. To me, these seem so basic.
I don’t know if I will ever understand the people who feel like gun deaths mean that we need more guns. Or those who say it’s a mental health issue and not a gun issue but they vote for politicians who want to restrict mental health access. I also don’t agree that it’s just a mental health issue. Mental health is not exclusive to this country, but no other country has shootings as frequently as we do. This is an issue with multiple reasons, and if we refuse to fix just one of them then the issue will continue. If we only help with mental health but still give free access to guns for all, shootings will still happen. And if the regulations are only limited to certain states, this will not help either. People use mass shootings in states with regulations as an example of why those regulations don’t work. But when you look into the weapons used in those incidents, often they were acquired legally in another state and they brought them in.
I feel like I am writing what everyone is saying and not adding anything new to the conversation. But I also don’t want to be a silent bystander when this has become so overwhelming. Sending kids to school shouldn’t be considered risky behavior. Kids shouldn’t have to do active shooter drills just like we do earthquake or fire drills. I’ve heard from friends about how things like light-up shoes are too risky for their kids to wear to school because if they are hiding from a shooter they might be discovered. I do have hope that maybe there will be a change in the future as the generations that grew up with these fears start to vote and run for political office. But it also shouldn’t be up to them to change things when we have the ability to change them now.
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