Sandy Hook Elementary (Newtown, CT): 27 killed and 1 injured, December 2012
Inland Regional Center (San Bernardino, CA): 16 killed and 22 injured, December 2015
Fort Hood, Texas: 13 killed and 32 injured, November 2009
Century 16 Movie Theater (Aurora, CO): 12 killed and 58 injured, July 2012
Virginia Tech University (Blacksburg, VA): 32 killed and 17 injured, October 2013
Pulse Nightclub (Orlando, FL) 49 killed and 53 injured, June 2016
These are just 6 of the mass shootings that made headlines in the past 7 years. Between them are166 killed and 182 injured. Over 300 people shot in just 6 shootings. Let that sink in. 300 people shot in just 6 shootings.
On June 15th, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut started a 15-hour filibuster which ultimately forced the GOP to agree to hold a vote on gun control. While I commend Senator Murphy and those who stood with him during these 15 hours, I’m not convinced that the conversation that was opened will do anything, and here’s why.
*Full disclosure, I’m all for stricter gun control laws. I feel they will help protect everyday citizens and all around keep everyone safer*
Growing up on military bases, I was never scared of the possibility of a mass shooting where I was living. That was until the 2009 attack at Fort Hood, Texas (of which, statistics are shown above). At that point, I knew no one was safe if a soldier was capable of shooting 50 everyday people.
After each mass shooting that occurs, the President speaks on what a tragedy it is that people lost their lives at the hands of an unwell person who had a deadly weapon. It’s ridiculous. Every time this speech is given, it’s coupled with the screams of people asking for stricter gun control laws and the even louder screams of gun owners saying these laws will “infringe on their 2nd amendment”. With the Republican Congress we currently have, there’s no way we are going to push gun control laws anywhere past our mouths. But where do we draw the line? When innocent people are killed in a nightclub because the gunman supposedly hated gay people? Is it when a politician gets shot in the head resulting in 6 deaths and the incapacitation of the politician? Or when children are killed because the gunman went to an elementary school with the intent of killing his mother?
The Republican party has always held out that gun control laws would infringe on our right to bear arms as stated in the 2nd amendment. They used this argument to shut down conversations in the past, and I’m positive they will use it again now after what is our 176th mass shooting in the past 2016. News reports will tell you that the Pulse Nightclub shooting is the worst one in United States history. Yet, our right to own an AR-15 assault rifle is still seen as more important than the lives of those innocent people who just tried to have a good time on a Saturday night.
I will say this, there are many gun owners who use them for hunting or safety, and by all means continue to do so. You are not the ones that most scare me. It’s those that can walk into a gun shop and walk out with a military grade weapon with no sort of background check or waiting period. At that point, it’s not a gun license; it’s a license to kill.
Also, I’m not ignorant enough to believe that just because stricter laws are put in place that people will follow them. If there’s a will, there certainly is a way. But, what purpose does a military grade firearm serve you in everyday life?
Gun control laws will always be a topic of debate in our government, but if we can make our world a little safer, think of what future generations can do.
Thank you to Senator Murphy for forcing this conversation to start. Hopefully, together, we can change the usual outcome.
