Is There a Such Thing as Gun Control?
By Kenneth R. Jenkins
This has been the saddest day since Sandy Hook and the shooting in Buffalo. How many school shootings will it take our Congress to finally do something about gun control in our country? How many?????
How many more children will have to die in order to prove a point that gun control is very essential. How many??????
First, it happened at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY now, in a small city in Texas in all places in a school killing, according to the latest report, 19 children and 2 teachers in Uvalde, Texas about 80 miles west of San Antonio.
The gunman, 18 years-old, was wearing body armor and carrying a rifle. The shooter was fatally shot by law enforcement officers responding to the attack a Robb Elementary School.
According to reports, the 18-year-old opened fire at the Texas elementary school brought two rifles on his 18th birthday that were assault-style rifles form a store in Uvalde County, according to Texas Democract state Sen. Roland Gutierrez after a briefing with the Texas Rangers.
The question I would like to raise is, how in the world did this 18-year-old boy purchases two assault-style rifles then, slipping in the school in order to commit murder and mayhem? A better question is where’s this boy’s parents when all of this is going on in the first place? Should they be punished for allowing him to purchase the guns in the first place?
I am still not convinced that leaders of our government will even do anything to help correct gun violence and all that it does and that mostly destroy lives and tearing apart families.
Here’s a case in point, in Chicago, according to nbcchicago.com, Chicago sees mass shootings in less than 6 hours with at least 11 wounded. There were six shots in Jackson Park on the 6400 block of S. Richards Dr. on a Tuesday night around 10:30 p.m. when police say someone pulled up in a SUV and began to shoot at people in Jackson Park. Six people shot — four women and two men — ranging in ages from 22–37 years-old.
Only a dozen of the USA’s 50 states require permits to purchase a gun
19,379 gun violence deaths were recorded in the US in 2020
612 mass shootings happened in 2020
America’s gun suicide rate is ten times higher than many European countries
The USA sees 100 times more firearm-related deaths per 100,000 people compared to Germany
There are 316 people shot in America every day
11 US presidents have been victims of an attempted assassination involving firearms
More than 75% of first and second graders know where their parents keep firearms
39,383 people died as a result of gun violence in 2019.
This figure comes from the FBI gun violence statistics and information from the Gun Violence Archive. As staggering as it is, it only tells part of the story when it comes to gun violence facts. This is because although it includes the number of the 24,090 of gun-related suicides, featured in full in gun suicide statistics, it doesn’t incorporate the 29,765 additional injuries related to firearms.
This is due to the fact that most gun deaths statistics only take into account primary deaths related to guns (deaths that occurred within a week of the gun-related injury). 19 Upsetting Gun Violence Statistics [2022 Update] (legaljobs.io)
Last year in the US, a total of 39,383 people died as a result of gun-related violence.
This figure includes 24,090 gun-related suicides but not gun-related injuries that later resulted in death (29,765). If the additional figures were accounted for, then the deaths per year in the US would be approximately 53,855. 19 Upsetting Gun Violence Statistics [2022 Update] (legaljobs.io)
More shocking facts: Over 36,000 people are killed in the US every year.
The US has become a country where guns are have become judge, jury, and executioner. Gun statistics show that over 36,000 Americans lose their lives every year due to gun crime.
Which means: Approximately 100 lives are lost to gun violence daily on American soil. 19 Upsetting Gun Violence Statistics [2022 Update] (legaljobs.io)
Meanwhile, there are some who we elected and trusted to supposed to be leaders representing us that will say rather or not if they would help do something to put on the books ways to curve gun violence in our country.
The Washington Examiner (http:washingtonexaminer.com) reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer indicated on Wednesday that the Senate would not take immediate action on legislation to reform the nation’s gun laws, pointing to Republican opposition.
Yes, the Senate Majority Leader, had no plans in order to fight this problem that is killing the people in our country, and he pulls off the biggest death, dumb and blind routine that you’ll ever see. Or, is it going to interfere with money going into the pockets of those fat cats in Washington like Shumer.
If our elected officials would not do something about it then, what do we need them for?
So, I guess another school shooting or mall shooting or mass shooting will probably will people especially our elected leaders to wake up and stay woke or there are going to be more bloodshed on our streets.
Here’s another shocker, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is schedule to hold its annual convention in Houston days after a gunman killed those 19 students and two teachers in the same state. This shows the stupidity of some people on how they actually “care” for the ones they represent.
President Biden addressed the nation on the aftermath of this tragic day in our country, “When in God’s name are we going to do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” the president asked.
“These kinds of mass shootings rarely happen in other parts of the world. Why? They have mental health problems…Why do we keep letting this happen? Where in God’s name is our backbone?… It’s time to act.”
The question of where’s the backbone of those who do serve us but failed to get a law going in order to bring gun violence to the forefront and off the back burner.
Our prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones in that fatal and careless act of violence that was so senseless.
Kenneth R. Jenkins is a freelance writer, poet, podcast host/producer, minister, devoted husband living in Savannah, GA.