Gun Violence in America: A Never-Ending Story
Parkland. Newtown. Las Vegas. Aurora. Columbine. These communities suffered the worst of gun violence in modern American history. However, statistics show gun violence is a part of our everyday American culture.
Even years after a mass shooting has taken place, survivors, families, friends, and communities still feel the pain. Kyle Dandrea, whose younger brother was in fourth grade at Sandy Hook during the shooting, still vividly remembers the relief she felt when he came home that day. “ My family and I came home and just had to be with each other, to hold each other, to squeeze my brother as tight as possible with the utmost gratitude for his life.”
“Time heals some wounds but left deep scars,” said Dandrea, which rings true with any instance of gun violence. In the last week, two Parkland students and the father of a Sandy Hook victim committed suicide.
The New York Times reported nearly 40,000 people in the United States died from gun violence in 2018. This is the highest number in 50 years, topping 2017 by just 1,000. About 60 percent of deaths involving guns were deemed suicides, and approximately 37 percent were homicides.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 66 mass shootings in the United States in 2019 alone. The federal government defines mass shootings as an event of gun violence in which there are four or more victims.
Many see the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 children and six adults, as the event that spawned the call for gun control.
In June 2016, a gunman opened fire in a nightclub in Orlando, Florida killing 50. The next year 59 people were killed at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada making this the deadliest mass shooting on American soil.
In February 2018, a lone gunman killed 17 people in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. While this was not the deadliest mass shooting in America, students of every age used it as a rallying cry to demand tighter gun control laws.
The following month gun control activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School led March For Our Lives in Washington DC. Hundreds of thousands of students attended the rally, both in DC and across the country, demanding change in gun control legislation.
Despite growing gun control activism after events like the Parkland Shooting, little has been done in regards to federal legislation to combat the issue. Instead, state governments are taking control of the issue with many states enacting stricter gun control legislation.
Mississippi, Idaho, Wyoming, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas have the weakest gun control laws according to the Gifford Law Center, a leading policy organization located in San Francisco.
Mississippi does not limit the number of guns that can be purchased at one time. In addition, it does not require the licensing of gun owners or requires a background check on either party during a transfer of firearms between two individuals. In 2016, Mississippi ranked as the fourth highest state in the nation for gun deaths per capita
California, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York as some of the states with the strictest gun-laws, according to the law center.
At the start of 2019, California raised the minimum age for purchasing a rifle from 18 to 21. This newest piece of legislation is in addition to required state background checks on every gun sale, ten-day waiting periods after the sale of a gun, and a ban on most assault weapons as well as restrictions on large capacity magazines.
In 2018, state governments across the Northeast including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island formed a gun safety coalition. The states agreed to share information about individuals who have been banned from owning firearms in their own states.
At the start of 2019, New York passed new gun legislation, specifically the “red-flag” bill. This bill would allow law enforcement, concerned family, or school officials to ask the courts to block someone from a gun purchase.
Legislators in favor of the bill argue that this legislation could have prevented shootings like Parkland.
While many towns across the United States have not been home to mass shootings, many Americans still worry about their safety and the safety of their loved ones.
Michelle, a Connecticut native and mom to three school-aged boys, constantly fears her children will be victims of gun violence. “I worry about my children all the time, and have discussed with them what to do in an active shooter situation.”
While elementary school children have adopted active shooter drills at school, young adults in college also prepare for the unthinkable.
“I frequently think about school shootings,” said Alex Bergan, a junior studying criminal justice at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. “When I am at an event, for example, our school concerts, I worry when there aren’t police officers or security around,” he said.
For immigrants, the gun control crisis is even more mind-boggling.
David and Agnes, new parents and Polish immigrants who came to the United States in 2015, commented on how they didn’t realize how many people actually own guns because gun laws are much stricter in Europe.
“[In Poland] the laws are so strict, so only the police have guns,” said David. “This makes me feel very unsafe sometimes in America because anyone could have a gun at any time.”
“It’s hard to understand the true impact of gun violence if you haven’t experienced it,” said Dandrea.
“To understand it, to fight for change, and to fight for their lives gives me hope that one day, hopefully soon, we will fix the laws that are rooted into the soil of our country.”
Kathleen O. & Samantha H.
