America needs to eliminate guns

Recent mass shootings call for concern about gun violence

Megan Valadez / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

Mass shootings rippled across the country this past month of April, stretching from coast to coast. There were six people killed in downtown Sacramento on April 6. More than a dozen were shot at a concert in Dallas, TX on April 2. Two killed and more wounded at a Cedar Rapids, Iowa nightclub on April 10. Ten shot aboard a Brooklyn subway train in the middle of the morning commute on April 12. During Easter weekend, nine people were shot at a shopping mall in Columbia, South Carolina. Hours later, two teenagers were killed, and more were injured, at a house party in Pittsburgh.

The past two years have been incredibly bleak for cities across the country dealing with more gun violence and homicides. The recent surge in violence has left behind shattered families, anxious residents and shaken communities. 

Plain and simple, I hate guns. I feel that with every day that passes I am reading about another shooting that occured, and those are just the ones that make the news.

We need stricter gun control, and by that I mean that as a country, guns should be abolished in all aspects. 

Gun violence happens more often than we think. The shootings that usually make the news are the ones that either kill or injure a lot of people or those that involve innocent bystanders. It occurs on our streets every day. The majority of gun violence that plagues America doesn’t affect strangers. It is more likely to be the settling of grudges or gang related shootings that have surged in cities like Los Angeles and New York. 

A study recently released by NBC on April 22, 2022 states that guns became the leading cause of death among children and teens in 2020, killing more people ages one to 19 in the U.S. than vehicle crashes, drug overdoses or cancer. According to a research letter published by the New England Journal of Medicine on April 20, 2022, more than 4,300 young people died of firearm-related injuries in 2020, which is a 33% increase from 2019. 

Our government officials continue to fail to protect our youth from preventable deaths. Just because it is illegal for someone under eighteen to buy a firearm does not mean that it is not possible for kids to get access. According to a study done in the Annals of Internal Medicine, published Feb. 2022, more than five million children under 18 became newly exposed to guns in their households from Jan. 2019 to April 2021. A July 2021 study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics found that school closings and the lack of adult supervision during the pandemic correlated with the higher rates of fatal and nonfatal gun injuries both suffered by young children and inflicted by them. 

Last semester I took a sociology special topics course on gun violence, where I learned that due to the availability of illegal guns, a lack of maturity in settling disputes, and a shortage of resources to address mental health and substance use disorders, gun violence across America continues to grow. What I also learned is that the reason there is an uptick in gun sales is because people do not feel that our law enforcement is there to protect us. I agree with everything and that there is a bigger issue at hand, which is usually problems with law enforcement in America.

When people feel like police do not “serve and protect” but are rather killing innocent people, as we have drastically seen over the last few years, people feel the need to purchase a gun to protect themselves. But there are multiple sides to this gun debate. Some simply have a gun for self-protection, while others, like the McMichael’s in the recent Ahmaud Arbery trial, used their guns to “aid” police in making a citizen’s arrest, and ended up killing Arbery. 
Then, there are others who purchase or steal guns with the intent to injure or kill people. They often have backgrounds in mental illness and a lack of maturity.

Right behind abolishing guns in America is fixing the way we treat mental illness in this country. 
In an August 2019 study done by the Los Angeles Times, the life histories of mass shooters were analyzed. According to the study, the vast majority of mass shooters experienced early childhood trauma and exposure to violence, such as bullying and other family problems, which were precursors to mental health concerns. Also, every mass shooter studied had reached an identifiable crisis point in the weeks or months leading up to the shooting, such as a bad grade in a class, losing a job, or bullying.

Because guns are so readily available, they are seen as an option for many people when they are dealing with conflict. If we eliminated guns and how easily accessible they are, they would not even be considered as an option, which would inevitably result in less gun violence. 

In my opinion, there is no need for someone to have a gun in their possession, let alone, a military style rifle, like an AR-15 or AK-47. Gun violence continues to occur because of the availability of these guns and just how easy it is to obtain one. It is as simple as walking into a Bass Pro Shops, Big 5, or gun shop, showing your ID, signing some papers, and maybe going through a background check, depending on what state you are in. As we have seen with ghost guns, people can simply buy the parts online and assemble them in their own living rooms. It’s that easy.

Because of the ease of availability of guns, people are more likely to use them, especially kids, when they are not properly stored. People resort to deadly violence because there are no resources to help those in need. America makes receiving mental health help nearly impossible and is not focused on keeping our schools and streets safe. 

Thoughts and prayers are not enough anymore. We need to do more as a nation to end the senseless epidemic of gun violence. This starts by reducing easy access to dangerous weapons, especially to children and individuals at risk of harming themselves or others. We should also be holding the gun industry accountable and ensuring there is adequate oversight over the marketing and sales of guns. We should also look at gun violence through a public health approach that focuses on addressing the factors that increase or decrease the risk of gun violence, especially in communities that are disproportionately impacted. 

Mindless and senseless gun-related incidents need to stop. Yes, I am angry at the people who choose to use guns in reckless ways, but I am even more angry at our government for not regulating guns properly. Guns need to be eliminated in all senses.