OPINION: Do not ignore mass shootings

More and more mass shootings and acts of terrorism take place in America as time goes on. As this continues, we become accustomed to the regular pace of massive killings, and our reactions lessen in severity. It’s as if murderous violence is standard now, and because it’s been going on for a while, people think that it won’t end.

After a shooting happens, it’s spoken about for a little while, but society does not often take effective measures to prevent them from happening in the future. Turning a blind eye allows these tragedies to keep repeating.

The most recent mass shooting, killing four people and injuring 10 others, took place in a school in Rancho Tehema Reserve, Calif., on Nov. 15. But this stands as only the latest of a long, tragic string of high profile shootings in the past few months. A gunman opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers on the Las Vegas strip on Oct. 1, leaving 58 dead and 546 injured. Another shooting took place at a Texas church on Nov. 5 killing 26 people, including children as young as 18 months.

A variable in society’s reactions to these tragedies is the shock level. As more of these tragedies take place, this variable has reduced. The more we are exposed to this sort of violence, the less we think about the outrageousness and devastation of the event. We must not continue on this path of normalizing mass murder. Having frequent mass shootings is not normal or O.K.

The longer we go without addressing the issue, the more we are doomed for the violence to continue. The best way to stop it is to fully acknowledge the tragedy of the situation. Be mournful, heartbroken and, most importantly, be angry.

Be angry that so many innocent people have been wounded and killed by gunmen. Be angry that mass shootings generally don’t have as much of an emotional impact on society as they used to. Be angry that the violence continues without any sign of stopping.

“When I first heard about the Texas shooting, I was so upset,” senior Julia Farese said. “I didn’t understand how this could keep happening.”

It’s important to recognize that the frequency of these types of shootings is much higher in America than it is in other countries. The United States has 270 million guns and had 90 mass shooters from 1966 to 2012. No other country has more than 46 million guns or 18 mass shooters, according to a Nov. 7 New York Times article. Although America’s policies, innovations and achievements have influenced countries all over the globe, we are by no means a model nation in terms of gun safety.

The large amount of mass shootings is due in part to the ease of which American citizens can access and purchase firearms. Performing a background check prohibits felons, fugitives, drug addicts and others from buying guns. Current federal law requires licensed dealers to conduct background checks on all potential buyers. But, unlicensed private sellers—those who work online and at gun shows, for example—are not required to observe the same policies, according to a June 30 article from Newsweek.

“Since there have been so many shootings recently, it’s clear that it’s too easy for the wrong kind of people to get guns,” senior Cooper Steinberg said.

Most Americans live somewhere near a gun show, making it so easy to purchase a firearm without passing a background check of any kind. People also regularly buy guns from their friends and neighbors, according to the same Newsweek article.

In order to reduce the number of gun-related acts of violence in this country, Congress needs to make it harder to purchase firearms. Every state should have laws requiring a background check every time someone buys a gun. There is no reason for this change not to be made because those who are not felons or drug addicts should pass anyway, so they have nothing to worry about.

“Society needs to take more preventative action against gun violence,” junior Aidan Pero said. “America can’t go on like this.”

This type of violence can no longer be tolerated; we need a new “normal.” By being passionate and getting angry about the newfound regularity of mass killings, we can be more effective in making the madness stop.