Mass Shootings in America Have Significantly Increased Following the Pandemic
Gun reform in the United States has been a political topic of discussion since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. Since then, few restrictions have been placed on how easy it is to obtain firearms, and prevent further mass shootings from occurring. With time passing, and mass shootings rising, there has been a decline in favoring stricter gun laws by Americans.
Mass shootings can be defined as, “a single outburst of violence in which four or more people are shot,” by the Mass Shooting Tracking website. In 2022 alone, there have been 273 recorded mass shootings with 324 people killed. That is 92 more shootings performed from January to June than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
With these events being more frequent, the question posed is: have Americans become more desensitized to seeing these killings? With a decline in the want for gun reform, future values and regard for human life are at stake.
Collaborative action and policy are required to enforce change and lower the statistics. How many more lives must be lost until there is change?
