We’ve been in this exact situation so many times in the past 10 years or so that it almost seems rehearsed as to what our reaction will be.
Early this morning, two journalists, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, were shot dead on a live broadcast for WDBJ, a Roanoke, VA-based TV station. The shooter, known professionally as Bryce Williams, was a co-worker in the station, and based on a wealth of evidence gathered, his attack was premeditated. Williams ended up shooting himself, but not before leaving a trail of important messages both physically and on social media.
So everyone, we’ve rehearsed – what do we do? What should we think? On the one hand, it’s absolutely terrible what happened. There is no doubt that this premeditated attack is devastating, and the world lost two amazing people today. On his own personal Twitter account, Parker’s boyfriend (another employee of the station), sent out a few of the most gut-wrenching, heartfelt messages I’ve ever read.
On the other hand, there should be no doubt in anyone’s minds that something has got to happen with gun ownership in this country. According to the Washington Post, there are 270 million civilian-owned guns in the US right now – and that’s ignoring what seems to be a very lucrative black market. We own about 220 million more guns than India, “2nd place” on that list. In addition, Americans own almost 89 guns per 100 people – Yemen comes in 2nd with about 55 per 100. Basically, we own a ridiculous amount of guns – and legally, this ownership is justified by the 2nd Amendment.
But why do people own guns? According to a Gallup Poll taken in late 2013, 60% of people said they own guns for their own personal safety and protection – that was first on that list by a long shot. The next three reasons, hunting, sport, and target shooting, all garnered a large base of responses, but listed fifth on that list (at 5%) was “2nd Amendment right.”
We shouldn’t need wake up call after wake up call to talk about the mass shooting problem that exists in this country. But something absolutely needs to be done. The rhetoric that 60% of gun owners hold, that their guns are necessary for protection, seems contradictory. If we were to have strictly held gun ownership laws – comprehensive background checks, mental health tests every few years or so, etc. – it seems as if there should be no need to own guns for protection, because those who would carry out attacks would no longer be able to obtain guns. If we were to live in a country where owning and using a gun weren’t so regular, the culture of bearing arms would be severely minimized.
It’s worked elsewhere. According to CNN, when the state of Connecticut implemented even basic permit laws, they experienced a 40% decrease in the amount of gun-related murders over a decade. In 1996, Australia experienced a mass shooting that took the lives of 35 people. Due to this, the country implemented severe gun control laws – and they haven’t experienced a mass shooting since.
According to Vox, since the fatal Sandy Hook shooting in December 2012, there have been at least 864 mass shootings in the US with upwards of 4,000 fatalities. And nothing will change until legislators and citizens together unite over the common idea that inflated gun ownership in this country is not the solution.
Opponents of gun control will claim that people who call for gun control immediately in the wake of this situation are “politicizing the tragedy.” But if this issue isn’t repeatedly talked about, mulled over, and given serious consideration, nothing will change. Call it “politicizing” if you’d like, but if that’s what needs to be done in order to stop the nearly 1,200 gun-related homicides since 2013, then we must politicize.
Today, the US experienced an absolute tragedy. But if we don’t do something soon, we better get used to these types of events. We lost two irreplaceable lives today – now it’s time to buck the trend and not lose any more.
