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It's time to get serious about gun control.
By Dan O'Reilly — Written on May 17, 2022
We are only 19 weeks into 2022 and there have already been 203 mass shootings this year, according to The Gun Violence Archive.
The group defines a mass shooting as an event in which four or more people are killed or injured by a gun, not including the shooter.
After the high-profile mass shooting in Buffalo New York, which targeted specifically Black people, many are talking about the normalization of extremism.
Yet again, this nation's lackluster response to a gun violence epidemic has become event in the most catastrophic way.
Recent mass shootings are a tragic reminder of the need for gun control.
Notably, the weapon that is believed to have been used in the Buffalo mass shooting was a legally purchased AR-15 platform rifle. Alleged shooter Payton Gendron legally obtained the gun.
Reports suggest he had already threatened to shoot up his own school and his concerning manifesto suggests his plot to kill had been brewing for a while.
While the Buffalo shooting grabbed headlines over the weekend for obvious reasons, it wasn’t the only incident of its kind.
A shooting at a church in California left one dead and five injured.
In an incident that could have become as deadly as the shooting in Buffalo New York, it took a group of civilian churchgoers to subdue a shooter that came into their church with the intention to kill.
The weapon that reportedly killed one and injured five more was a handgun.
Another shooting occurred during an altercation in Houston.
Reports indicate that a group of men got into some sort of disagreement at a busy flea market in Houston on Sunday. Something allegedly caused the men to get into a gunfight that left two dead and three more injured.
The injured men are in critical condition so it’s possible that there will be more deaths in connection with the gunfight.
Two handguns were reportedly recovered at the scene.
People are going to keep dying due to gun violence in the United States.
Until legislators decide to get serious about firearms and their role in American society, people are going to keep dying from gun violence.
Whether it’s a churchgoer in California, a Black shopper at the supermarket, or a child who gets ahold of their parent’s weapon, they all have at least one thing in common.
The need for stricter gun laws in the wake of these shootings is painfully obvious and those in support of increased protections are growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of action.
But, still, critics of gun control continue to weigh in with problematic arguments.
In the wake of the Buffalo shooting, the NRA tweeted, “Disarming law-abiding citizens and making good people helpless will not make bad people harmless.”
The argument against gun control ignores the fact that an armed security guard was among Gendron’s victims.
Attempts to convince the public that guns keep people safe completely overlook the fact that a security guard with a gun is no match for people like Gendron, white supremacists who flourish in a nation with minimal gun control.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.