It is Unsafe to Leave Your Home in the 21st Century
I repeat: “it is not safe to leave your home in America.” The statistics about gun violence in America are definitive, proving that our nation is filled with people who place ownership of weapons of mass destruction as a priority above public safety.
The Gun Violence Archive, a non-partisan, non-profit group, defines a mass shooting as “four or more individuals wounded or killed in a single incident.” As I write this, there have been 639 mass shootings in the United States in 2022. This is five years in a row that there have been more mass shootings than days on the calendar.
Sandy Hook Demanded Change We Handle Gun Violence
Writing for a Las Vegas newspaper, my first big story about mass shootings was on December 14, 2012. A single shooter, armed with a military assault rifle and a high-output magazine slaughtered 20 children, ages five and six, and six educators. He had murdered his own mother prior to entering Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. As I wrote the story, watching the reports on television, I had tears in my eyes and believed that our government would finally do something about a growing tragedy in our nation. Of course, I was wrong. Our legislative body lacks the “cojones” to do the right thing and place the safety of our people above the profits of the NRA, gun manufacturers, and gun sellers.
This fact alone is the ultimate reason to vote every incumbent politician in Washington out of office.
Gun Violence: Mass Shootings Have Become Common in Today’s America
What is most upsetting is that the number of mass shootings in every venue has increased since Sandy Hook, and most involve military-style weapons. The only purpose for these deadly toys is to kill as many humans as possible in the shortest period of time.
The largest mass shooting in American history took place in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. The assassin possessed 31 firearms, including 12 assault rifles. 61 people, including the shooter, lost their lives. On November 5, 2017, a lone gunman armed with an assault rifle, killed 26 churchgoers in a small church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. 22 were injured. Both of these tragic events happened under the watch of Donald John Trump.
There Have Been Many More Since Sandy Hook
We know about many others, including the murderous assault on Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2014, when 17 students and faculty members were gunned down by one man in possession of an assault rifle. Most recently, on May 24, 2022, a lone gunman, armed with an assault rifle murdered 20 elementary school students at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas before being killed by law enforcement. However, the event lasted for about an hour as officers remained outside the school although they heard gunshots and screams inside the school.
The Fourth Estate has Failed the American People
These are tragedies reported by the mainstream media. “Sensationalism sells advertising.” Meanwhile, dozens of other Americans lost their lives from gunshots and were never reported in the national news. The number of those murdered was too small to report.
Only 10 out of 639 mass shootings in 2022 have been reported by the national media. Think about this. You or someone you love could have lost their lives in 629 other shootings, and no one cared enough to report this fact. The mainstream media has accepted gun violence as part of life in America. They are complicit with the tourism industry which could be heavily damaged if the truth was revealed to the general public. Again, profit before people.
This is a travesty, and it must end. Any politician who refuses to vote in favor of changes to our gun laws must be removed from office forever.
By The Wise Old Fart, (James Turnage)
Find my novels on Amazon’s Kindle
Sources:
Medpage Today: Seven Months After Uvalde, Has Anything Changed in the U.S.?
Newsweek: The Mass Shootings That Hit the U.S. in 2022
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Scott Beale‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
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