It seems as if gun violence has become the norm. Another day passes and another shooting occurs. Nowhere seems safe, and no one seems to be doing much about it. It’s like shootings have now become the “norm” and are a part of our everyday life. Just the other day, there was a shooting at Michigan State University where three people died and five people were injured before the gunman took his own life.
For this year thus far, there have been 71 mass shootings nationwide. We are only in the second month of the year, and sadly, more shootings will occur before we reach the end of the year. What will it take to get this under control? How do we prevent these situations from occurring? It is troubling to think that at any moment, someone can come in, no matter where you are (school, church, movies, work, etc.), and just open fire and kill innocent people.
I personally think it begins with holding our politicians accountable. In Texas, we are known to be a state that carries guns, and it doesn’t help that Governor Abbott took away any requirements that were needed to carry a gun, like a license, and training, and implemented the open carry law. I understand the importance of protecting yourself, but some people are not responsible enough to own a gun, and some should simply not have one. The measures that were put in place to carry a gun, were put in place for a reason.
It is sad, but I think some political decisions are not made based on protecting the people, but more of a “self-agenda” to get elected and stay elected. But with guns, this comes at the expense of peoples’ lives, and this sadly includes children. We will never forget the Uvalde school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Innocent lives that shouldn’t have been taken. More is needed and more needs to be done so we can protect our families and our communities.
