Before today ends, there will likely be another one.
Gun Violence Archive reported that as of April 12, our country had endured 147 mass shootings since the first of the year. The nonprofit defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are killed or injured. Based on this definition, we’ve averaged more than one mass shooting a day in 2023.
The United States is awash in gun violence. Counting suicides, more than 11,700 Americans have been killed by guns so far this year.
On April 10, five people were murdered when a gunman stormed the Old National Bank in Louisville, Kentucky, shooting coworkers and two of the police officers who bravely responded to the horrific scene.
The Louisville shooter, whose family confirmed he’d been dealing with mental health issues, legally purchased the AR-15 rifle used in the massacre one week before the shooting.
The AR-15 was one of the weapons used by the shooter who killed six people at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 27. That shooter was also under care for an emotional disorder.
We have a deadly mix in our country of mental illness and easy access to guns. Rhetoric, grandstanding and profit have constructed a seemingly impenetrable wall around this problem, making many of us frustrated and fatigued, discouraged and distraught.
But we must fight for change. For the victims of gun violence, for the innocent children in classrooms, for our future, we must demand action and not just words.
It’s time to hit the reset button and look at our gun laws. What was written in 1791 isn’t a blank check for owning any gun, especially a weapon consistently used in mass killings.
There should be mandatory criminal background checks at the federal and state levels for anyone wishing to purchase a gun. Red Flag laws should be implemented and a system formed where those experiencing mental health issues are required to be screened by medical professionals before being allowed to buy a gun.
Concealed and open carry laws should be scrutinized. There are too many guns in our public spaces.
Mental health care must be a top priority. From schools to the workplace, more services are needed.
We, as the people of this country, must have a higher respect for each other and for human life. Our culture is dominated by violence.
We also must somehow get over this hyper-partisanship that’s consumed our society. If you truly want change, then you have to be willing to listen. Insulting each other gets us nowhere.
But before most of these changes can occur, our lawmakers must work for the greater good. Leaders make tough choices because they’re required, not because they’re popular.
We’ve seen statehouses like ours in Indiana ban medical decisions of women and transgender youth for so-called safety reasons. Well, guns are killing more of our youth than anything else, but where’s the action?
Where’s the concern for children’s safety?
Both sides are right. Guns don’t kill by themselves, but guns are the preferred method for killers. If we want to make this country safer, we must address both people and guns. Protecting one another is real patriotism.
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