The story is so old it could be considered a cliché at this point.
A mass shooting occurs. Dozens are injured or killed. The public expresses outrage. They demand change in gun control from policymakers, who themselves pocket change from the NRA. The political climate remains charged for about a month, but eventually people move on. Until the next shooting.
In the wake of the February 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17 individuals and wounded over a dozen others, the satirical news source The Onion ran one of it’s most noteworthy articles for the umpteenth time:
“‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
The article headline is infuriating, darkly humorous, and downright depressing all at the same time.
One of the world’s most developed and influential countries is also “where over half of the world’s deadliest mass shootings have occurred in the past 50 years, and where citizens are 20 times more likely to die of gun violence than those of other developed nations.”
33 people died at Virginia Tech in 2007. 15 at Columbine in 1999. And jumping forward: when Adam Lanza massacred 27 teachers and Elementary-school children just six years ago, we were positive that change was going to happen.
It didn’t. There have been 294 School Shootings in the United States since 2013. That comes out to an average of roughly one per week. And that’s not even counting the out-of-school incidents. The Las Vegas Strip. The Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. The movie theatre in Aurora.
I don’t even live in the United States, but I still feel horror and frustration every time the words “MASS SHOOTING” are splayed across the front page of CNN. So why has nothing changed?
The usual debate has been going on between those who argue for stricter gun control laws, and proponents of gun rights who believe that gun-free zones are a “bulls-eye” for would-be mass murderers. Apparently, the only way to stop these people is therefore to arm the “good guys.”
To me personally, this is probably one of the worst arguments I’ve ever heard.
If every teacher in America starts carrying a handgun to school, what kind of atmosphere does that bring? One of safety and comfort in an environment of learning, or further fuel for the culture of fear and paranoia that has been breeding in the States ever since the election of Donald Trump? Is the role of an underpaid, underrepresented public schoolteacher to educate his students, or to be a bodyguard for them?
And the argument that further gun control will “decrease safety because it doesn’t do anything to prevent criminals from obtaining weapons” is debunked simply by looking at literally any country with gun control. Lower crime rates, lower shooting rates, and most importantly, far lower gun-related deaths.
My honest opinion is that America may be beyond saving at this point, and that the status quo is practically cemented by now. I’m pretty sure that the real reason no change has come from American policymakers is because the National Rifle Association has practically every Republican senator and congressman in their pockets. And don’t forget the President himself.
For the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas who lost their best friends, and will probably spend the majority of the coming months – if not years – struggling to return to a sense of normalcy, the inaction of the United States government is unacceptable. For everyone in Florida rallying or participating in the walk-outs, I wish I could tell them “I couldn’t agree more with your message.” Change has to happen. But, can it?
Enough is enough. That is, until the next time.
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