published by The Voice on October 17, 2013
in response to "Taking Control of Gun Control", published by The Voice on September 26, 2013
Many things have occurred in America in the past 20 years that should
cause every American to question where our country is heading in terms of
culture, and how we behave as a society. Several very important occurrences
that should incite curiosity are mass shootings and massacres. April of 1999: two
students at Columbine high school open fire and kill 12 classmates. April 2007: student Seung-Hui Cho
shot and killed 32 people and wounded 15 others at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg,
Virginia. January of 2011: Jared Lee
Loughner opened fire killing six and injuring 12 others including the now
recovered Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.
All three of these events remain firmly engrained in the minds of those
there to witnessed them, and each caused a stir in its own right. After each of
these shootings, national arguments were sparked over the controversy that is
“Assault Weapons” and how their regulation along with other firearms regulation
could help stem the tide of such events from occurring. Something that may
surprise you, however, is that only one of the four shooters involved in these
deadly events used what the media refers to as an assault weapon during their
spree.
That person was Dylan Klebold of the Columbine shootings and he was in
possession of a TEC-9 semi-automatic machine gun, with three 30 round magazines
(which he used the least out of his three weapons). Otherwise, every shooter
used weapons that do not fall under the “Assault Weapon” category. Both Cho and
Laughner used pistols, and the other Columbine shooter Eric Harris used a 12
gauge double barrel shotgun, all of which were purchased legally or taken
wrongly from someone who had legally purchased them.
While “Assault Weapons” remain an issue of heated discussion, many
people overlook the actual number of murders committed with these weapons. According
to the FBI statistics for the years of 2007-11, less than 1180 out of 46,320
total gun murders were committed with rifles or long guns throughout the United
States, which includes the firearms that fall under the now infamous term
“Assault Rifles.” Also, according to the Department of Justice, only 2% of state
and 3% of federal inmates were armed with the newly branded “Assault Weapons.”
So comparing our firearm murder rates to other countries’ rates doesn’t exactly
bring the true issue to light. In fact, examining our gun violence points to a very
different trend, one in which “Assault Weapons” are not the main culprits.
So if it’s not the availability of firearms, what could it be that
causes people to commit these murder sprees? Is it trends in society towards
violence? Lack of mental healthcare availability? Or are these shooters overly
glamourized and given too much attention by the media after committing these
atrocities? Perhaps it’s all of the above.
According to the National Institute for Mental Health, only about 50% of
adults with a serious mental issue receive treatment, and the largest group to
have these illnesses falls between the ages of 18-25. Combine that with classic
trending violence in American movies, TV shows, games, etc., the amount of
attention given to the shooters whom commit these atrocities, and the
availability of firearms and you have a deadly combination. But people seem
committed to removing only one, rather than spending the time and money needed
to correct and prevent mentally sick persons from both obtaining firearms and
putting them on the road to recovery.
With only a few years and a small investment of money, and who knows?
One day events like these can be a distant, but not forgotten memory.
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