As a millennial, I have grown up seeing violence everywhere. Violence has unfortunately always been a part of our society. The type of violence we are witnessing recently though is different. The type of violence that has now become prevalent within our society is devastating. Any loss of life is tragic. It has become too common though for a single or small number of persons to take the lives of many.
One of America's first mass shootings unveiled when I was the age of 9. Now at the age of 20 there have been over 25 mass shootings in the United States.
Regardless of one's political beliefs we all agree that a change needs to be made. I am not writing this article to suggest a master plan that will correct the problem. No one can correct the problem. The problem we are facing cannot be erased like previous solutions to a math problem gone wrong. No one can bring back the lives that have been lost and no one can heal those left mourning the lost loved ones.
What we can do is ban together to make a change. To prove to each other and our government that we are capable of making a difference. Why does my opinion matter on this issue? I don’t have a political background. I am a communication major. I have had an easy life. I have been fortunate to grow up in a safe neighborhood. The point is that anyone can be targeted by gun violence. A bullet does not discriminate.
The many people that have lost their lives in a mass shooting were innocent people just like you and me. They did nothing to deserve it. It is not their fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is our fault, as a society. We break into two mind frames after we face tragedy like what we have seen this past week in Orlando. One group of people say that if only there were more people there carrying a weapon, someone may have been able to stop the shooter. Then there is the contrary group that says if weapons weren’t so accessible, maybe the shooter would not have been able to acquire a weapon.
I am not here to state my opinion on either of the preceding arguments. I am here to beg and plead that no matter what your personal opinion is that you put aside all other arguments and fight to make our society safer. Anyone can be affected by a mass shooting. We do not have time to go back in forth in regards to political agendas. We simply need to make a change. We need to take care of one another.
