What could DeKalb, Illinois, Isla Vista, California and Roseburg, Oregon possibly have in common? Well by the title, you might figure that they have something to do with gun violence. All of the above cities were homes of shootings at universities in which students were mercilessly shot and killed, shaking the entire nation into action.
Well, not "action" per se, but some people got angry for a couple of days.
The truth is that despite the fact that these three towns are only a fraction of the communities that have been effected by mass shootings, very little has been done on the side of legislators to solve any sort of gun problem we have in our nation.
So why has so little been done? I mean, we all agree that no one should be murdered by guns, right?
While the truth is that many see the problem, there are powerful people in our nation that are fighting to ensure that nothing gets done. In fact, a majority of Americans, gun-owners or not, agree on sensible gun laws such as universal background checks and waiting periods to pick up the gun. Then who are the people stopping legislation?
There is one primary and extremely wealthy organization to blame, the National Rifle Association, or the NRA.
After the horrid shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school, President Obama proposed two bills to help limit the damage that could be done in a mass shootings. These proposals included a smaller amount of bullets in magazines, universal background checks, closing loopholes and making schools safer. There were some executive actions taken as well.
While all of these ideas seem to be fairly reasonable, the NRA immediately began lobbying and raised millions of dollars to fight these proposals with their ridiculous amount of influence. They convinced millions of Americans that the President's actions were not about saving children but about weakening the second amendment and seizing citizens' guns.
So if you have ever asked yourself, "Hm, what did we do after Sandy Hook, again?", now you know that a wealthy organization just blocked anything and everything that had to do with gun reform.
Listen, every life lost in a school shooting is a tragedy, and unfortunately, since December 2012, these shootings show no sign of slowing down.
"But wait!" You say, "a good guy with a gun would easily take down a bad guy with a gun." Actually there were armed guards at both the Pulse nightclub in Orlando and Columbine High School in Colorado at the times of both shootings.
In the chaos of an active shooter incident, it is nearly impossible to have the resolve and precision to take down a shooter. Not only this, but the "good guy" with a gun could become a suspect by police as they arrive. A "good guy" with a gun will be just as likely (and responsible) to run from the scene rather than attack the attacker.
Yes, these shootings are typically orchestrated by mentally ill and deranged people, and no, guns alone don't kill people. But it's about time we look at our extremely lax laws on guns and wonder if our lack of regulations are killing people.
School shootings make up a minuscule fraction of gun violence, but it's still too much violence. No child deserves to go to class one day, wondering what they would do if a shooter walked in to kill their classmates. No first grader should have to ask if it is their turn to die by the hands of a lunatic with a gun. Let's stop this needless suffering and actually begin to protect Americans and our children. Let's fight NRA lobbying against reasonable laws. Let's save lives instead of standing by and watching others snatch them away.
