It would seem that the time has come for real change on gun control legislation in the United States. Over 800 March For Our Lives protests occurred around the world in response to the shooting in Parkland, Florida that claimed the lives of 17 students. Shootings like this one have become an event far too familiar to U.S. citizens- it’s horrifying that such an event could become commonplace at all, but it has. It’s difficult to make an exact tally of the number of incidents or victims killed since the federal government has been barred from researching gun violence due to an amendment lobbied for by the NRA. But the available records and data point to a trend of regular gun injuries and deaths occurring in schools and more mass shootings in the U.S. than any other country in the world. Gun rights advocates are quick to claim that this is a “mental illness problem,” and just as quick to ignore the fact that the Parkland shooting was an anti-Semitic hate crime. The school in which it took place had a 40% Jewish population and the perpetrator had a known hatred for Jewish individuals, as well as other marginalized groups. Race and gender cannot be ignored in the discussion of gun violence. The vast majority of mass shootings are perpetrated by men, most of them white.
So what has led to America’s gun violence epidemic, and what can be done about it?
I would compare the U.S. to other countries in regards to its gun laws and the amount of gun violence that it sees. England, for example, has very strict gun laws, and sees rates of gun violence lower than almost anywhere in the world. Only one school shooting has occurred in England, and this was before said strict gun laws were enacted. Gun violence after the new laws came to an almost complete halt. The only spree killing (different in definition than a mass shooting) with a gun since these laws was carried out with legally owned firearms, contrary to another mantra conservative gun rights supporters like to spout- if guns are outlawed, the only people who will have them are criminals. In reality, stricter gun laws will prevent them from getting into the hands of criminals.
The correlation between strict gun laws and a lack of school shootings continues with Australia- another country that banned most guns after a mass shooting. This shooting, which happened in the town of Port Arthur, incidentally occurred within weeks of the Dunblane mass shooting, which could be considered its parallel in England. 35 people were killed and 23 more wounded in the Port Arthur shooting; the reactions of the public led to the new gun-related legislation being enacted in the same year. Since then, there has been a marked decrease in Australia’s murder rate.
Two things are clear. Stricter gun laws mean less gun violence, and enacting these laws in reaction to mass shootings is an effective treatment for them. Do not be distracted by talk of mental illness, gang affiliation, or other factors that may lead to shootings. Regardless of the motivation behind a shooting, guns are what make it easy for these people to kill. We can see that without them freely available to the public, the deaths can finally stop.
Now is not the time for empty platitudes, it is the time for action. I hope that the millions of people- not just students- supporting March For Our Lives are an indication that the country has finally realized that it’s time for America to put aside its obsession with guns and follow suit with the rest of the civilized world, putting an end to the tragedy.
