Today is June 12, 2016. That means that we have been living in 2016 for a whopping 165 days. Already in those mere 165 days, we have witnessed 133 mass shootings.
In 2015, the United States saw 372 mass shootings. That is more than one mass shooting per day for an entire year ... with a few left over.
In 2014, the United States saw 280 mass shootings.
According to the FBI, a mass shooting occurs when four or more people are killed or injured at a single event, in the same general time and location, not including the shooter.
If we move beyond a mass shooting, and look at the number of gun violence incidents the results are chilling.
2014 saw 51,820 incidents
2015 saw 53,272 incidents
In 2014, 628 children were killed or injured.
In 2015, 698 children were killed or injured.
CHILDREN. We are talking about children under the age of 11. This is horrific.
In 2014, 12,593 people died.
In 2015, 13,429 people died.
In 2014, there were 1,605 accidental shootings.
In 2015, there were 1,965 accidental shootings.
What the hell is wrong with us?
This is a topic of intense conversation in our country. To make changes, or to leave it alone? Do we change our gun laws to make it harder for people to get their hands on guns? Or do we leave it alone because it is our second amendment right?
I'm sorry ... this is probably going to stir up some anger when I say this ... but using the second amendment as a reason to keep your guns is bull shit. This is the not the wild, wild west and we don't need to carry guns with us anymore. We do not have to protect our homes from soldiers invading them. We do not have a well regulated militia.
The second amendment says: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
I don't know about you ... but when I read this I don't see any part of it that says, hey, don't forget to bring your gun to the movie theater with you. This amendment is about the concern of the national army posing a threat to the separate state's security. It is really about when people served in the militia, their right to bear arms would not be infringed.
There is ZERO reason to have any type of guns other than your hunting rifles which should be kept locked in a gun safe. There is ZERO reason to have any type of assault rifle. The argument there is that people like to shoot them for fun. Be that as it may, there are a lot of people who have access to them (legally or otherwise) who use them for a different purpose. A purpose that ends with 50 people dead in a Florida nightclub.
I am not saying that people can't go hunting. I come from a family of hunters. I love venison as much as the next person. And that is fine - hunt responsibly. But why, when you are not hunting, do you need to carry a gun with you? I am also not saying that people shouldn't own guns. I'm saying we need to do SOMETHING about this.
Something needs to change. We continue to have mass shootings and if the trend of shootings continues this year, we will experience more mass shootings than last year. This is a problem.
What is the solution?
*Statistics are taken from the Gun Violence Archive.
In 2015, the United States saw 372 mass shootings. That is more than one mass shooting per day for an entire year ... with a few left over.
In 2014, the United States saw 280 mass shootings.
According to the FBI, a mass shooting occurs when four or more people are killed or injured at a single event, in the same general time and location, not including the shooter.
If we move beyond a mass shooting, and look at the number of gun violence incidents the results are chilling.
2014 saw 51,820 incidents
2015 saw 53,272 incidents
In 2014, 628 children were killed or injured.
In 2015, 698 children were killed or injured.
CHILDREN. We are talking about children under the age of 11. This is horrific.
In 2014, 12,593 people died.
In 2015, 13,429 people died.
In 2014, there were 1,605 accidental shootings.
In 2015, there were 1,965 accidental shootings.
What the hell is wrong with us?
This is a topic of intense conversation in our country. To make changes, or to leave it alone? Do we change our gun laws to make it harder for people to get their hands on guns? Or do we leave it alone because it is our second amendment right?
I'm sorry ... this is probably going to stir up some anger when I say this ... but using the second amendment as a reason to keep your guns is bull shit. This is the not the wild, wild west and we don't need to carry guns with us anymore. We do not have to protect our homes from soldiers invading them. We do not have a well regulated militia.
The second amendment says: A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
I don't know about you ... but when I read this I don't see any part of it that says, hey, don't forget to bring your gun to the movie theater with you. This amendment is about the concern of the national army posing a threat to the separate state's security. It is really about when people served in the militia, their right to bear arms would not be infringed.
There is ZERO reason to have any type of guns other than your hunting rifles which should be kept locked in a gun safe. There is ZERO reason to have any type of assault rifle. The argument there is that people like to shoot them for fun. Be that as it may, there are a lot of people who have access to them (legally or otherwise) who use them for a different purpose. A purpose that ends with 50 people dead in a Florida nightclub.
I am not saying that people can't go hunting. I come from a family of hunters. I love venison as much as the next person. And that is fine - hunt responsibly. But why, when you are not hunting, do you need to carry a gun with you? I am also not saying that people shouldn't own guns. I'm saying we need to do SOMETHING about this.
Something needs to change. We continue to have mass shootings and if the trend of shootings continues this year, we will experience more mass shootings than last year. This is a problem.
What is the solution?
*Statistics are taken from the Gun Violence Archive.
