In the U.S. 27 school shootings have taken place so far this
year and over 200 total mass shootings have happened. This year is not even half over yet.
Below is a portion of an article published today by the NPR News Service. The entire article can be read here:
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far
“A shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, that has killed 19 children and two adults marks the 27th school shooting this year. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the shooter behind Tuesday's incident was killed.
This comes just 10 days after a shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., that took the lives
of 10 people.
The U.S. has surpassed 200 mass shootings this year
The Gun Violence Archive, an independent data collection organization, has counted 212 mass shootings that have occurred so far this year, as of Tuesday. It defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people were shot or killed, excluding the shooter.
The U.S. ended 2021 with 693 mass shootings, per the Gun Violence Archive. The year before saw 611. And 2019 had 417.
As for school shootings, according to Education Week, 2021 had 34 such incidents at educational institutions (the highest since the organization started its database). In 2020, there were 10 shootings. Both 2019 and 2018 recorded 24 shootings.”
I have very strong opinions about this and not everyone necessarily agrees with me. As far as I am concerned there is no price too high to protect our children. Many changes need to take place including an improvement in the treatment available for mental illness. On May 17th this gunman bought two AR-style rifles legally just after his 18th birthday. The next day he bought 375 rounds of 5.56-caliber ammunition. I know our constitution gives us the freedom to bear arms. But should that include the right to buy weapons of mass destruction and large-capacity ammunition magazines? Those are weapons of war not needed for hunting or target practice. Too many politicians are bought by big businesses and groups like the NRA (National Rifle Association) and continue to vote against making these types of rapid-fire weapons illegal. As I said, no price should be too high to protect our children.
Babies. They are our babies.
ReplyDeleteI'm not anti-hunting or gun ownership. I know lots of really good sportsmen/women who take hunting very seriously.
But there is absolutely no need for assault rifles in the U.S. market or in people's homes. I fear the NRA has a foolish grip on our elected officials. Nobody gets to be all "right to life" to me who lets this kind of behavior continue.
Bonnie in Minneapolis
Like you I am not against hunting and gun ownership for those that are into it. But no one is going hunting with an assault rifle. We don't need military style assault rifles in our homes. There are too many politicians that care more about their power and money than the lives of the children in our country.
DeleteIt is good to meet you Bonnie. I've seen you on many other blogs and enjoyed your comments.
Bonnie your very strong opinions are rational, civilized opinions. We should all feel that way and I think most decent people do. It's that gun lobby, and the politicians it throws money who are mostly to blame. If we could make it illegal for the gun lobby to donate to their favorite corrupt idiots in DC, punishable with serious jail time, then maybe these awful so-called leaders would listen a little more to their constituents. This is a national nightmare. When will it end.
ReplyDeleteThank you Doug. This whole situation infuriates me. It is beyond my understanding that some of these politicians can not put the children first. I like your suggestion of making it illegal for the gun lobby to donate to these politicians. Yes, it is a national nightmare.
DeleteSome years ago on one of my many holidays in the U S I had the opportunity to see inside a gun shop. My husband and I were both astonished and appalled by how easy it seemed to be to buy a weapon.
ReplyDeleteYou are right Pat and those gun shops are everywhere as well as practice ranges. It's heartbreaking to see so many shootings here each year and they happen everywhere including churches, schools, and grocery stores. I sometimes feel like we've gone back to the old west days.
DeleteThe one that shocked us was a Wal-Mart in Alaska: one aisle ladies' undies and toys, the next aisle firearms. Terrifying.
DeleteDenise, you are right it is shocking. Unfortunately there is no shortage of places to buy guns here. It needs to change.
DeleteI wonder how we can go back.
ReplyDeleteWe have to go back because otherwise we are losing our country. You and I along with so many others keep voting for the right people but still there are too many of the wrong people in power. How can they turn their backs on the children?
DeleteIt is truly unbelievable that our government has done nothing about this for soooo long. Shameful!!
ReplyDeleteYes it is shameful Rita. We do have some in Washington that keep trying to do the right things but they are always voted down by those that are more interested in the power, control and money. I'm sure you are grateful that your grandchildren are home schooled. My grandchildren were homeschooled too and I understand my son and daughter-in-law deciding to do that.
DeleteIt's just so backwards to how things should be, this "guns before kids" attitude. Maybe when the current kids grow up they will make a change for their kids. Without the kind of guns this teen carried, he could not have done so much harm in such a short time. I am so sad for those who died too soon, and for the families and survivors whose lives have been changed so horribly forever.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is unbelievable how things are here. We do have some politicians that want to do the right things but unfortunately they are usually out voted by the others. So many of us keep voting to change things but still this happens. It is so sad to think of all the children and families affected by this. And I can't imagine how the children that witnessed this must feel.
DeleteJust one of many reasons I left the States for Costa Rica and don't expect to ever return. Republicans should hang their heads in shame. The House passed two good gun control bills that Republicans in the Senate stopped. The U.S. thinks it is the greatest nation in the world - think again! I'm so glad I live somewhere else now.
ReplyDeleteI know you left for a variety of good reasons and I hate to think of all those reasons because they are all serious problems here. I'm so glad you can live in a place you love. I love our country here but I hate how it has changed so much in so many negative ways. Many of us keep voting for change but so far it has not been enough. I'm not giving up but it sure is hard to watch all that keeps happening.
DeleteWhen are the people who make the laws going to realize that controlling weapons is not a bad thing, rather it will save lives. In Canada we have gun control and while a few people complain (Conservatives) and we have had some school shootings we are not willing to sacrifice our children to some passe idea written back when bears and other wild animals walked the streets.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
You are so right and that is what is so upsetting here. Too many politicians are more interested in their own careers and the businesses that pay them off in order to keep the laws as they are currently. Apparently too many are willing to sacrifice our children and that makes me sick. It is wrong in every sense of the word.
DeleteSorry Jackie, I just now found your comment in my spam folder - blogger is up to it again!
It does make you ashamed that our country allows the NRA to have that much power... over our government and over what most people want.
ReplyDeleteYou are so right Rian. It breaks my heart to see how many people do not have the proper priorities.
Delete120 guns per 100 people is what I heard. That's a lot of guns. When someone mentions the mental health issue being the reason, I always want to tell them that every country has people with mental health problems that are not getting the help they need but not every country has these mass shooting events.
ReplyDeleteSo very sad and yet nothing will change
You are right Sue about the guns being the primary problem and we are the only country to have so many mass shootings. The biggest problem here is with the rapid fire assault type weapons which are used in most of these mass shootings. Those guns should be against the law but we have too many officials that refuse to even consider it. Many of the Republican senators are paid off by big business. It is all beyond belief but yet it continues.
DeleteSadly I heard one guy say, the only way to protect children is to arm teachers, guns don't kill by themselves, people use them to kill, so protect everyone by having laws to check if the person asking to purchase the gun, should they have the gun. It's simple and still allows Americans to bear arms, but not the repeat fire type, which do so much damage.
ReplyDeleteMost states here do require background checks to buy a gun. Unfortunately not all of these are as strict as they should be and in some areas the buyer fills out a form but can still leave with the gun that same day. Some states require a license to own a gun but there are many loopholes in that process. There is a lot that could be done to reduce this kind of violence but too many officials refuse to do what is needed. There are a lot of problems with a big portion of our government unfortunately.
DeleteMy country has its own problems with violence, but it is much, much harder to get hold of a gun over here - otherwise I fear we would have our share of school shootings and other such horrible crimes, too.
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point there, Bonnie, regarding the treatment of mental illness. Nobody in their right mind goes and kills school kids, or customers at a supermarket. These people need treatment, but how to reach them?
Our country does need improvements in opportunities for help for the mentally ill. But we also badly need to get these rapid fire assault weapons off the street. People are concerned about their "right to bear arms" but they can have guns without having assault weapons. It's been an ongoing battle in this country for many years but it has gotten worse and too many politicians are paid off. Unfortunately money and power is behind much of this and that is so wrong.
DeleteMore security in the schools, we should be protecting our children. People are still going to have guns but make the children to hard to get to...I see that as the only solution. It is a sad situation...but so were all the previous shootings:(
ReplyDeleteWe definitely need the security in schools. There should also be an armed school resource officer that makes sure all safety procedures are followed all the time. I heard today the shooter in Texas walked in an unlocked door. There should never be any unlocked doors. Some schools have excellent security in place but apparently not all of them have what is needed.
DeleteIt's a shame and I would think common sense would prevail but I don't think it is going to happen when the politicians get their pockets lined by groups like NRA.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right and that is a huge part of the problem. It's like they are selling out our children.
DeleteThe mantra “guns down kill people, people kill people” is so annoying. “Lawn mowers don’t gut grass, people cut grass”, “Kettles don’t boil water, people boil water.”
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand the blind reverence to a document written in 1791. I think there should be a 21st for the 2nd!
Bonnie, a school sent home paperwork for parents to fill out. It shows the front and back of a child's naked body (gender neutral, of course). The parent is supposed to fill in all marks on the child that could be used to identify the child if need be. Can you imagine this? Because I cannot.
ReplyDelete