Unit 516 Mass Shootings

Today we see hundreds of mass shootings a year all around

The year is 2050, and the world is more dangerous than ever. Left and right there is destruction. Families are torn apart, everyone is scared, and an unimaginable amount of people are dying. There is only one thing to blame- mass shootings.

Mass shootings are a horrific event prevalent in our society for many years. On July 18, 1984, James Huberty fires with his long-barreled Uzi at a McDonald’s San Ysidro, California, killing twenty-one adults and children. Another gunman, George Hennard, fires in a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing a total of twenty-three people on On October 16, 1991. A different mass murderer, Seung-Hui Cho, shoots thirty-two students and faculty members dead at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia on April 16, 2007. Additionally, Adam Lanza opens fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut killing twenty students aging from six to seven, and six staff on December 14, 2012.

It is a grim matter to those, who walk through this great nation, or flick through the news channels, when they see the statistics, and the headlines of shootings and homicides committed against innocent and defenseless peoples. Now americans everywhere, instead of being able to live their life with a peace of mind, are forced to live with the anxiety and fear that their loved ones will not home from mundane activities such as school, the movies, or even church. These fears aren’t unfounded either. The FBI defines a mass shooting as a public attack in which three or more people are shot, and last year in the USA there were over 427 mass shootings.

Gun Control and Mass Shootings in America Gun violence is an unquestionable issue in America, with the United States ranking as one of the worst with both homicides and suicides using guns. That being said, we outnumber Mexico in gun related deaths and among first-world countries we rank far above others in the number of gun deaths, such as England and Australia. Consequently, we live in one of the only first world countries that does not have extensive gun laws and restrictions to gun access. Aside from the countless homicides and suicides by firearm in this country, one particular issue within this predicament is mass shootings, with the most recent mass shooting occurring on February 14th, 2018 at a high school in Parkland, Florida where 17 people were killed. Although, it may seem like an easy fix to just implement gun control laws into our society to eliminate gun violence, but it is important to note that Americans own nearly half of all firearms globally, which is roughly 325 million guns;

Australia a country and government very similar to ours had a school shooting in 1996 where there was a killing spree in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded. Prior to the Port Arthur shooting there had a been 18 mass shooting in the country of Australia. After the Port Arthur attack, there had been 1 mass shooting where one man shot his wife children and himself. In America, there the last mass shooting that was on the news was one the 2 of December this year in San Bernardino, California. 14 People had been killed and 17 had been wounded.

Mass shooting episodes have increased over recent decade and received substantial media coverage during the last year. Multiple schools, clubs, and churches, and public places across the United States have been impacted, resulting in the deaths of innocent people. The United States has more mass shootings than any other country between 1966 and 2012. There has been shootings in public places receiving media coverage and giving the perception that they are becoming the new normal.

I read so many titles about people, who have their personal illness, bring their own gun to shoot at everyone . We all remember about Adam Lanza , who had shot at twenty children and six staffs members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 , or Elliot Rodger , twenty-two years old men killed more than six innocent citizens in 2014. All of that happen because they have guns in their hands easily , and they can decide who will be no longer alive in their hands. According to www.washingtonpost.com , “So far in 2015, we had have 280 days and 294 mass shooting had happened.” , “ We have gone no more than eight days without one of these incidents each year” , and of course : “ There is the broader universe of nearly 10000 people killed and 20000 wounded in nearly 40000 gun violence incidents so far this year.” .

Secondly, gun massacres are usually committed with legal weapons which makes people believe those could be prevented with stricter laws. Every day 48 children and teenagers get shot, including suicide attempts and unintentional shootings. From this number, seven members of the youth wont survive every single day (1). Considering a whole year, this makes way over 2,500 children and teenager who die from gun violence.

a Bloom A prodigious amount of attention has been drawn to gun crime after many mass shootings in 2015. A mass shooting is defined by the FBI as four or more people shot and/or killed in a single event at the same general time and location (Gun Violence Archive). According to the Mass Shooting Tracker, 371 mass shootings took place in 2015 alone-- leaving 1,387 people wounded and 469 dead. Gun control has become an enduring dispute with many proponents for both sides. Congress needs to find a way to assure that the right to bear arms is protected, but also legally keep guns out of the hands of certain people.

Many people believe that the main cause of mass shootings are the people who are doing it have a mental health problem, and sometimes they might even be right, but not everyone who has been involved in a mass shooting has had mental health problems. “...data shows that, at most, only around 5 percent of crimes in the U.S. are performed by people with mental illness and that the percentage is the same for violent crimes (link is external)—which means that 95 percent of violent crimes are committed by non-mentally ill individuals” (Psychology Today). There are cases that support that some people have had severe mental health issues, such as schizophrenia. Yet, there are also cases that prove there is very little evidence linking mental health and mass shootings together. There are very few mental illnesses that would make a person want to go and commit such a murder.

Mass Shootings in the U.S. Three hundred forty six mass shootings occured in the United States last year. It is now February and thirty mass shootings have already occured. Seventeen of these being on school campuses. These numbers have significantly increased since the 2000’s. Harvard School of Public Health showed that about every sixty four days, a public attack occurs.

Mass Shootings have been pretty common in the U.S. In the past 30 years or so. According to the Congressional Research Service, there have been 78 mass shootings in the United States since 1983. The shootings have resulted in 547 deaths and 1,023 casualties. Mass shootings are only responsible for a very small percentage of deaths in the United States, but mass shootings are happening more often than ever, a mass shooting happens on average one time a month.

Well since 2018, there have been over Three Hundred. 300. School shootings in America. Just schools. Being lit ablaze but the hail of bullets that people unleash onto innocent people. Humans killing Humans.

The number of incidents of gun violence last year in the United States was about 60,000. In recent years, the number of mass shooting has risen to about one mass shooting per day in the United States. The country is divided with some wanting to reevaluate our gun control laws and either ban or add additional regulations to the purchase of guns. Others say it is our right for Americans to own guns and something the founding fathers considered important to put in the Bill of Rights. The number of firearm sales has risen with the number of mass shooting many Americans question if banning guns or certain guns could help decrease the number of gun violence deaths.