Gun Violence: The “New Normal” By Johnna Hayward

In the aftermath of the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard that killed twelve Americans, many citizens are concerned about the growing number of mass shootings in the United States. According to the New York Times, on September 17, 2013, thirty-four year old Aaron Alexis, a former Navy reservist and contractor, entered the Navy Sea Systems Command Headquarters building at roughly 8:20 a.m. Alexis opened fire where 3,000 people were working and killed twelve people. He was eventually shot and killed by the police. Investigators found a shotgun and two pistols at the scene. Aaron Alexis had a long history of mental illness and a violent background.  Before the shooting, Alexis claimed to be hearing “voices”.

It seems like we hear about a mass shooting every three or four months on the television or through various social media sites. The public response to these mass shootings follows an alarmingly predictable cycle. Initially, the public is in shock by the shooting. Coverage of the incident is all over news channels like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. There is an influx of “tweets” and Facebook posts, especially by youth and celebrities. Memorials are held. Candles are lit. Flowers are placed on the graves of the innocent lives lost. The solemn and broken down face of the President appears on our television screens. He gives condolences to the grief-stricken families of the victims. Promises brimming with uncertainty are made for change. But time and time again, the same thing happens. Innocent lives are taken. Tears are shed. Families are left to pick up the pieces. Nothing ever changes.

Should we really accept these horrific tragedies as the norm in our society? Between the years of 2012 and 2013 alone, there have been a plethora of mass shootings. Some of the most highly publicized tragedies were the shooting at the premiere of the “The Dark Night Rises” in Aurora, Colorado, the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, and the most recent shooting at the Washington Navy Yard. According to the Reddit list for 2013, there have been roughly 250 mass shooting so far in the United States. That equates to an average of one mass shooting every day. One mass shooting every day is way too many. Considerable changes need to be made in our government policies to ensure the safety of all American citizens.

Why are these tragedies continuing to happen? Why are innocent lives continuing to be taken in large numbers? After the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and the profound emotional response from the public, the implementation of new gun control laws seemed promising. President Barack Obama and many other congressional members attempted to pass a gun control bill. The bill required background checks for all gun sales, including private sellers, who are currently exempt from them. In addition, the bill restored the ban on assault weapons that was active from 1994 to 2004. According to the Miriam Webster dictionary, an assault rifle is a “gun that can shoot many bullets quickly and is designed for use by the military.”  Unfortunately, the bill failed due to a 54-46 vote in Congress. Many government officials expressed their disappointment in the failure of the gun control bill. President Barack Obama stated, “There are no coherent arguments for why we didn’t do this.”  Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, who was the victim of a mass shooting in 2011, stated, “All in all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington.”

It is without a doubt that the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution ensures the right to bear arms, but at what cost? The cost is the lives of many children and innocent people. A popular argument by many gun control opponents is “guns don’t kill people, but people do”. Yes, it is true that the intent to harm or kill lies within the individual. Guns don’t have emotions nor do they have thoughts. The ugly truth is that guns make it possible for individuals to act on their intent to harm or kill. The person who harms or kills possesses the intent, but essentially the bullet that penetrates the individual’s body does the actual killing. Claiming that guns don’t kill people, but people do is an extremely weak argument. It doesn’t matter where the intent lies, innocent lives are continuing to be taken by the bullets unleashed from guns. Many of the children who were killed in the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School were only four and five years old. Their parents will never be able to see their children again; their own blood. The grief and pain that these parents have to endure is incomparable. The compassion and empathy of an individual should be questioned if they believe that there is no serious error in a society where the lives of twenty innocent children can be taken and not catalyze change. Guns DO kill whether some people want to admit it or not.

You might be wondering why all the focus is on controlling guns and not other weapons. It’s true that there are a plethora of other weapons that can be used to harm and kill like blades, knives, bats, et cetera. Almost anything can be used as a weapon. We can harm each other with just our bodies. The fact of the matter is that guns, especially assault rifles can be used to kill a large amount of people in a short amount of time. With advanced technology, contemporary assault rifles have extremely high rates of fire According to the Washington Post, 15 of the 25 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years took place in the United States.

Unquestionably, the 2^nd Amendment of the Constitution is very important and will most likely never be repealed. But with the right to bear arms, there should be certain restrictions to protect the people. Citizens should be able to obtain guns, but they need to pass extensive background checks. Nowadays, private sellers of guns are not mandated by law to run background checks and consequently, guns get in the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. In another study reported by the Washington Post, evidence showed that states with stricter gun laws had fewer deaths from gun violence. Assault weapons should not be accessible to the general public. As American citizens, we have the right to protect ourselves, but do we really need assault rifles that can kill twenty-people in five minutes? Small handguns and other less dangerous rifles should only be sold to the public with strict background checks. To some people, gun control may appear as an infringement on the 2^nd Amendment, but it is truly not. The key word is “control”. Gun control does not completely abolish the use of guns, it only places restrictions to keep them out of the wrong hands and prevent tragedies.

At the memorial for the victims of the Washington Navy Yard shooting, President Obama made a very profound point: “Do we care enough to change? It ought to be a shock to all of us, as a nation and a people. It ought to obsess us. It ought to lead to some sort of transformation. These are not statistics. These are lives that have been taken from us.” Obama’s words shed light on the growing indifference to mass shootings. We must realize that actual lives have been taken and can never be restored. The people who died in these mass shootings are more than just a picture you saw while scrolling down the news page on Yahoo. These people had families, friends, and most importantly futures that they never got a chance to see.  It is understandable that as humans, we are occupied with the happenings of our own lives and often don’t have the time nor the energy to focus on tragedies in the news. But we must see that in our current society, it is not safe to go anywhere and that is a problem. Parents cannot send their children to school with the peace of mind that they will not be harmed. You cannot even attend the movie theater and enjoy a simple movie without the threat of gun violence. Mass shootings and gun violence do affect your life whether you believe it or not.  One of the chief American ideals embedded in the Declaration of Independence is the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These unalienable rights are being infringed when we cannot live safely. Part of upholding these unalienable rights does mean protecting people’s right to own guns, but not at the expense of others. Middle ground needs to be found between protecting the 2^nd Amendment and ensuring the safety of American citizens. With the current laws in place, the 2^nd Amendment is being protected, but not the safety of the people and that needs to be changed.

 Some of Obama’s last words in his speech were, “Our tears are not enough. Our words and our prayers are not enough. If Americans want to honor the 12 men and women who died at the Navy Yard; we’re going to have to change. We’re going to have to change.” Obama is right.  As constituents of the United States, we have to do more than react to mass shootings; we have to act. We have to protest, speak out, and contact our government leaders. We must show that we want change. Think about six-year old Olivia, a carefree little girl whose favorite stuffed animal was a lamb. Her life was ended tragically in the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. Think about Martin Bodrog, a veteran of the military with a wife and two daughters, Isabel and Sophie. He was shot and killed in the Washington Navy Yard shooting. How do you think they feel? It’s not dubious as to whether we are capable of change. We definitely can change. The big question is: do we care enough to change?