By Benny M.
Before starting, I would like to make a quick note. This article specifically discusses mass shootings in the USA, not gun violence as a whole. That would take several other articles to cover, and is a much larger concept as opposed to choosing to focus on just one of the many, many, many parts of this issue.
There are several definitions of a “Mass Shooting.” In a 2013 article, the Office of Justice Programs uses the definition: “Any incident in which at least four people are murdered with a gun.” In recent years, the exact number has changed frequently, usually either three or four minimum deaths. Some sources, like Britannica, refer more to the action: “An event in which one or more individuals are ‘actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area. Implicit in this definition is the shooter’s use of a firearm.’ “ The Gun Violence Archive’s characteristics of a Mass Shooting are: “4+ victims injured or killed excluding the subject/suspect/perpetrator in one location.” For the sake of this article, we will use several, but mainly those three.
At the time of writing, the Gun Violence Archive shows that, so far in 2024, there have been 403 mass shootings, regardless of death count. That averages out to around 1.5 mass shootings for every day that has passed this year. That number is absolutely staggering.
Without getting too political, here are some possible preventative measures that might help lower these numbers. To be clear, some of these are already in place, others are just theoretical.
Gun Licenses:
Make getting a gun much harder and restricted, raise the minimum age for ownership of a firearm, and implement more frequent mental health and safety checks in order to maintain a license.
Stricter Bans on Assault Weapons:
Not banning firearms in general, but assault weapons as they are commonly used for shootings and violence, due to the combat oriented nature of them. Groups should find some middle ground so people may still own firearms for targets or hunting. However, there’s no real reason to own assault weapons for most people.
Cracking Down on Illegal Firearms:
Making, selling, and owning illegal firearms would be a higher criminal offense with higher consequences. Limiting assault/combat based weapons by adding more restrictions would hopefully stop people from purchasing them because the process would be harder.
Better Safety Training:
Provide training for how to handle oneself in an emergency situation. These would teach how to keep yourself, and then others, safe during shootings. They would be similar to lockdown drills but more focused and specific to emergency training and behavior for these situations.
Better Mental Healthcare:
Provide better mental health programs for everyone to provide help to people who need help but have difficulty getting it. Mental health is not always the direct cause of violence but is still important.
Less Fantasizing of Violence:
Stop making gun violence look cool in pop culture, especially movies and shows. People associate guns with awesome action characters and think violence is cool, leading some to want violence. We as a society have to stop desensitizing violence in culture, as it creates a link between being interesting and being violent for many people.
It’s really hard to talk about things like this in this world sometimes, without it becoming controversial and a heated discussion. At the same time, it’s important to remember that life is one of the, if not the, most important things in our world. As a society, we shouldn’t have to live in fear of danger like this, but we do. I appreciate you for reading this far, I know this was a lot to read. Thanks for listening, and I hope you stay safe out there in this crazy world.