Mass Shootings - One Month into 2023

Starting 2023 on the Wrong Foot

There have been over 50 mass shootings in the United States in the span of one month. Americans have become numb that there almost seems to be a mass shooting every day. It has become the new normal that many of us have accepted. But this does not mean, we should accept this norm to be a daily occurrence in our society. We have the means for change, but why is change not happening?

Define: Mass Shooting

But first, what is a mass shooting? According to the Gun Violence Archive, a mass shooting is when 4 or more people are shot. This does not include the shooter. In 2023, 1300 people died from gun violence. Keep in mind, it has only been 31 days into the new year (at the time of this writing). 

Monterey Park

The most vivid shooting in our collective memory was in Monterey Park, California on January 21, 2023. 11 were dead and 9 injured after a gunman entered the dance studio during the local Lunar New celebration. When this writing began on January 31, four mass shootings had occurred in California alone after the shooting at Monterey Park. Since then, in a matter of less than a week, statistics show that two more shootings have occurred.

Threat Assessment 

The Secret Service released its reports on mass shooters from 2016-2020. It finds that most shooters exhibit behavior that is concerning to their family members, friends, or in general, people they know. Attackers often have a history of violent crime or behavior. Many attackers were emotionally motivated, feeling as though they were wronged either at a personal level or even at a workspace level. A fourth of the shooters believe in conspiracy or hate ideologies, such as anarchy, misogyny, or even nazism. And many have had symptoms of poor mental health or mental illness before or during the time of the attack. These symptoms can include depression and psychopathic or suicidal thoughts. 

Solutions and their Problems

Obvious solutions are not as obvious as they seem. If you dig deep into the societal issues that create the aggravated person found in shooters, you will find that it is a domino effect. Fixing mental health seems like the clearest solution, but it is not as simple as it seems. While therapy is an effective treatment for mental health, many people do not see the need for it, especially since it has been a historical taboo. Plus, therapy is costly, and not everyone could afford it. How about gun control, the thing directly causing the death of thousands of victims? Often, people misinterpret the meaning of gun control. It does not mean taking away people’s firearms, although that is a more extensive measure. Moderate gun control refers more to common sense gun laws. These can include more thorough background checks, or longer wait times, which has shown to reduce the impulse buying of firearms, which can lead to a shooting. But most firearms used in violent crime are often illegally possessed by the shooter. And with the gun culture so ingrained into American society, it is difficult to convince half the population to surrender some of the freedom they believe is entitled to them. 

Gun Legislation

Efforts have been made in the halls of Congress and state legislatures. On the federal level, Biden has signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities, which aimed to address the long-expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. These are only moderate measures to control American firearms. Republican partisanship and gun-owning Americans’ opposition have made more extensive actions difficult. But then, many instances of mass shootings are perpetrated by a semi-automatic handgun. Red flag laws are also a potential solution, which allows courts to seize an individual’s firearms if they present themselves as a threat to their community or themselves, but these do not always work. Gun control is much easier said than done. There is no end-all-be-all solution for gun violence. The spiral of societal issues just keeps going, but the best we can do as a society is to start with a single problem at a time. 

We Need Change, Now

It almost seems like there never ceases to be a day in the United States when there is no mass shooting. Gun violence as a whole demonstrates no signs of stopping, and so far, the projected number of these events seems higher than in previous years. As the younger generation, we live in constant fear, worrying that we are next. It is difficult to write about this topic in a positive light, even in a slightly optimistic manner. 

As a free society, we value our dear rights, something we take for granted. But too much freedom costs the lives of thousands of Americans. The United States is a unique nation, unique in the fact that there are more guns than people. People will continue to become a casualty of gun violence if we do not make our voices heard from the top. Writing to politicians in Washington will be difficult. American politics in recent years have been too polarized for both parties to come together to formulate decisive change. To create real change, we must appeal to other fellow Americans. Tell them, either we relinquish some of our freedom, or everyone will pay the price. 

Though there seems to be no solid solution for the ever so increasing amount of gun violence happening in our country, the best we as individuals can do to keep our own communities safe is to be kind. Even though we may not always see eye to eye, it is imperative that we understand how much influence our actions have on one another. We must act with compassion and be present in the lives of each other, especially in those who are going through a hard time.