by Drew Howerton, section editor
The past two weeks have been riddled with gun-related incidents of violence, the biggest of which being the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, which, as of late, is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. On June 12th, the shooter walked into a gay nightclub and killed 49 people and injured many more. Roughly 24 hours before, singer Christina Grimmie was shot and killed after one of her concerts in Orlando by a man with no clear motive.
Kalamazoo. San Bernardino. Sandy Hook. Charleston. Virginia Tech. Columbine. These are just a few of the most mentioned shootings that still ring fresh in the minds of my and my parents’ generation. But these shootings are just a few of the tragedies that make the news, the ones that end up at the top of the trending topics when I check Twitter in the morning.
Since the beginning of 2016, there have been 182 mass shootings. However, experts admit that gun violence is hard to measure, because there is no clear cut definition of a ‘mass shooting’. Most new research is based on an FBI report from 2005 that defines a mass shooting as an incident with four or more victims in the same location, though the same document also states that the definition is a vague one. Just trying to write this column, I read through a number of articles touting numbers and reports disputing those very same numbers, research that debunks those very same reports; the point is that systematic investigation on gun violence is severely limited, which in turn limits the ability to prevent it.
Regardless of the specific number of mass shootings in the U.S, what’s certain is this: there have been way too many. According to CBS News, compared to 22 other high-income nations, the United States’ gun-related murder rate is 25 times higher. It bothers me that my immediate reaction to these inhumane events is not anger or sadness, but exhaustion. I’m exhausted of hearing about rising death tolls, vigils and memorials, seeing shooters mugshots plastered on every news outlet, and hearing about yet another person who had their future cut tragically short. More than this, I’m weary of the countless defenders of guns, who insist that there is no real way to prevent gun violence, that killers will always find ways to obtain guns. I am sick of hearing the phrase “guns don’t kill people; people kill people.” Though I concede that it is valid that a gun needs a person behind the trigger to make it deadly, it’s also true that having a weapon in play makes it easier to kill more people at higher rates. In the wake of the Orlando shooting, one Twitter user compared spoons to firearms, arguing that spoons should be outlawed, because they are used for eating and eating can make people fat, to which I pointed out that it’s extremely difficult to kill over fifty people with a spoon.
Whenever a devastating shooting like this does occur, it always sparks the age-old nationwide debate that eventually goes back to two simple questions: How much gun control is enough, and how can we implement it without infringing on our right to bear arms? Gun regulations are always discussed at length; some decide that it’s high time to get rid of all guns except those used by military and law enforcement organizations, and others say that the only solution is to ease gun restrictions so that we can protect ourselves from shooters. I don’t think either of these solutions are ideal or feasible. The thriving underground gun market allows people to obtain guns around state laws with ease, and the increase of gun usage will encourage violence and citizens will be more likely to harm loved ones accidentally. For all of the discussion that takes place, no clear solution ever really results from it. Regulations are really only imposed on gun stores that are licensed by the federal government, not gun shows, where most sellers are largely private and not licensed federally. Like with data on gun violence, there is no nationwide standard on firearms are regulated, and so background checks and waiting periods for gun sales vary on state to state.
And this is where the problem lies. There is a third door though, between no guns and more guns, and that third door has to be definitive, clear cut regulations that spell out who can and cannot own guns, what they can own, and how they can obtain them. However, pro-gun groups like the NRA claim that regulations and laws imposed on firearms dealers cause unwanted hassle for responsible gun owners. But if those owners really are as responsible and law-abiding as they claim to be, shouldn’t they be able to comply with having to wait a little bit longer to buy a weapon? Some of my closest family members are law-abiding gun owners, and never once have I heard them complain about gun regulations, because just like anything else, it should and needs to be regulated. Besides, it feels like it’s a lot harder to get my driver’s license than to buy a weapon. In order to get a driver’s license, I have to complete three weeks of drivers education, plus 30 hours of driving experience and hold my learners permit for six months before I can hold a license in Texas. On the other hand, Texas has no waiting period between the purchase and the actual transfer of a gun, and the state has no firearms registry either, and all that’s really required to buy one is a state ID and that you purchase one from a federally approved firearms dealer. This is fine and dandy for responsible gun owners, but the simple process makes it all too easy for someone to obtain guns for violent reasons. And I think that it’s important to mention that I’m not at all opposed to Americans owning firearms. I’ve shot multiple weapons in the company of friends and family, and while it’s not really my cup of tea, there are some who find it fun and I can still respect their interests. But I do not feel that it is unreasonable to ask that there be a stronger standard for regulation, more education and just a little bit of common sense. For too long, politicians have offered empty promises to end gun violence. But let’s hesitate before we say “No More”, and make sure that this really is the last time.
Rhetoric surrounding gun violence from people of all political backgrounds only causes an endless cycle that prevents change from ever really happening. The constant back and forth from anti and pro gun groups ends up overshadowing the pain of torn-apart families, the survivors whose lives will never really be the same, or the victims who had their lives cut too short too soon. Until there is open dialogue on both sides of the aisle, until special interest groups keep their political interests and agenda out of the debate, there won’t ever be real justice for the people who got caught up in the middle.
