We Will Remember
Scroll down for the latest update from the Supreme Court on Nov. 12th!
Did you know that a 100 people died from a shooting this last Monday in the United States? Another 100 died from a gunshot on Tuesday. A 100 again on this Wednesday, and yet another 100 were shot to death on Thursday. Actually, 100 Americans die each day due to gun violence…and we don’t even hear about it!
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PS DuPont Middle School, Panther Prints - Spring 2018 edition.pdf
Two years ago, as the editor of my middle school newspaper, I had written an article on gun control in the aftermath of the Parkland shooting. Unfortunately, my article is just as relevant today as it was two years ago. However, in the years that have gone by, I have dug deeper to understand Gun Violence as well as the rhetoric that sweeps the Nation every time an unfortunate incident occurs.
I have noted that every time there is a mass shooting, people speak about it and then they seem to forget. For the newspaper, I went back till the 1990s and identified in my editorial, the number of lives lost in each one of those school shootings; several of which happened before I was even born. That seemingly indicates that people may care, but it appears as if no one seems to remember. But I don’t think that is the case, because the issue of gun violence is a question about our lives. No one wants to imagine or worry about the possibility that in their next trip to the mall they might be the ones on the news. Yet, we have grown numb to this senseless slaughter. Is it because we have given up hope for change? Is it because that even when two million protesters marched for their lives on American streets nothing changed? Is it because that despite the fact that 17 people were shot at a high school nothing has changed? It appears that we have developed the mentality that if those people could not change anything, then how can we. And if we cannot change anything than what is even the point of remembering or talking about gun violence. Simply put, we have given up, or that seems to be the perception.
Human perspective can be deceptive but numbers cannot lie. 36,000 Americans are killed by guns each year. Across 29 high-income countries, 93% of children ages 0 to 14 years killed with guns are from the United States (Law Center).
However, the one thing that doesn’t receive adequate airtime, is that nearly two thirds of all gun deaths…are gun suicides, and one third of gun deaths…are gun homicides. That speaks volumes of the state Mental health care, Family and Community support in the United States. What is even more tragic is that many of the 30,000 suicide deaths that occur yearly are preventable. A Harvard study found a correlation between suicide rate and the prevalence of guns in households. In states where guns were prevalent the rates of suicide also increased. Studies indicate that most attempters act on impulse, in moments of panic or despair. In fact, 90 percent do not go on to die by suicide once the acute feelings pass. However, if they have access to a gun during their moment of panic or despair, it is highly unlikely that they will survive a bullet wound. Vulnerable people should not have access to guns in the first place. In fact, basic legislation such as waiting periods Child Access Prevention, and Extreme Risk Protection Orders have proven to reduce rate of firearm suicide. Clearly, there is an effective way to institute gun legislation that saves lives and maintains the integrity of the 2nd Amendment. Yet the issue goes ignored in Washington D.C.
Gun violence is an epidemic and it cannot be solved by simply ignoring the issue. Time cannot fix this problem, only human action can. Congressman cannot ignore this epidemic simply because it politically inconvenient, not when our very lives are at stake. No demographic has escaped unscathed from this epidemic of gun violence. Yet, one must question how many more people will fall victim to this epidemic of gun violence that ravages the United States of America before politician are compelled to act.
It is no longer shocking to hear about mass shootings on the news. Unless the death toll reaches double digits, shootings are common enough to pass without much media attention. Did you even know that 70 lives have already been lost to gun violence in the months of September and October (Gun Violence Archive)? It has become the new reality. Despite promises of change, nothing has changed.
In September, 31 lives were lost to gun violence in the span of 48 hours. The last mass shooting to have captured the media's attention was in Odessa, Texas which resulted in seven fatalities. Those fatally shot were between 15 and 57 years old. They had their entire lives ahead of them. None of the victims could have imagined that a trip to the movie theater, a trip to the mall, or just driving on the road would have turned into a battle for their lives. Those people are not just statistics. Each and every single person we have lost to this epidemic of gun violence had their own identity. They were precious to their families and communities, as precious or important as you or me.
Even now, partisanship prevents progress from being made. But gun violence shouldn't be a partisan issue, not when human lives are at stake. Ultimately, we all pay the price of Washington's inaction. The 2nd Amendment is significant to many Americans and I understand that lawmakers must represent those Americans as well. Using firearms for hunting, collection or self defense purposes is acceptable. However, the problem is that people who shouldn't have access to assault weapons do have access.
Dayton shooter, Connor Betts used an assault rifle to fire 41 shots in about 30 seconds, killing 9 people. Nine lives were lost in the blink of an eye leaving their families and communities irreparably shattered. Children lost their parents and parents lost their children in the wake of this massacre. One woman’s death meant the loss of a mother to young girls. One man’s death means that his four children will grow up without their father. Another man’s death meant the loss of the world’s best son for his mother. Thirty seconds changed countless lives all because of a perpetrator who should never have been able to gain access to an assault rifle in the first place.
We can no longer continue down our path of forgetting the lives lost to gun violence. It has been more than a month since the Dayton and El Paso shootings, yet no concrete legislative action has been taken. We cannot erase the past, but we can change our future. Politics should not be placed above human lives. Too often Washington lawmakers are subject to party politics rather than acting in a manner beneficial to ALL of their constituents. Congress represents all Americans. It is always supposed to be a government for ALL the people regardless of who is in power - Liberal or Conservative. Sensible gun reform is possible without destroying the integrity of the 2nd Amendment.
James Madison wrote the Bill of Rights to guarantee the rights of American citizens, not to imperil innocent lives. Each and every single life we lose to gun violence is infinitely more precious then all of the guns in the world. The American Founding Fathers recognized that all men are “endowed by their creator certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The American Founders recognized the importance of safeguarding human life first and foremost in the Declaration of Independence. Today, however, it seems that Washington no longer recognizes this self-evident truth. If all human life is precious and created equal, then why have we ignored the thousands of lives lost to gun violence. Must we only take action when millions of lives are lost rather than thousands, when instead of school children and weekend shoppers getting shot it will be public figures and American icons facing the scourge of gun violence. Why must we wait when we can act now? Human life is precious and irreplaceable, guns are not. Congress needs to do something, and it is up to Americans to insure that our lawmakers do not forget human cost of gun violence.
Today's Update
The Supreme Court on Nov. 12th, 2019 turned down a request from the gun industry intended to block a lawsuit from families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
The decision reaffirms the ruling from the Connecticut Supreme Court that said the manufacturer of the AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting can be sued and potentially held liable for the 2012 massacre. However, liability for gun manufacturers is limited on how they market their products rather than on sale to third party consumers.
Nonetheless, this is a momentous decision that will possibly force arms manufacturers to reconsider their business model and hopefully develop controls which Congress itself has failed to, till now.
My Excerpt from Panther Prints, Feb 2018
The shooting fades into our distant memory. How many of us recall the mass shootings that took place in Sandy Hook, Newtown, and Chardon High School? I cannot. They are just names we should recognize. Nothing more, nothing less.
It is only when another tragedy of a like manner occurs do we remember the past ones. However, the countless families that will forever mourn the loss of their loved ones cannot forget and neither should we. The students of today will shape the world of tomorrow. The humanity which is inherent in us and reinforced by the ideals that are instilled in us calls us to stand together during these trying times and raise our voices to keep our future safe. We must stand united and only then can we can better evaluate our present and plan our future.
Works Cited -
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting?page=1
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/magazine/guns-and-suicide
https://lawcenter.giffords.org/facts/gun-violence-statistics