The Swamp logo

What We Know About Mass Shootings

And How to Hopefully Stop the Next One

By Kath ClarkePublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Like
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

It has been two days since the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida that has left 17 dead. While we mourn and share the stories of those who have died, it's also important to look forward and ask: what can we do next time? Because we're at a point in history where when it comes to mass shootings, the question is not if, but when.

Here's what we know:

1. Over 15,000 Americans are killed every year by guns. That's an average of 42 people killed by guns every day. This number has increased from 2016 to now.

2. The gun homicide rate is 25% higher than other high income countries.

3. Let's take a look at the UK. In 1987, a man in Hungerford killed 16 people with a handgun and two semi-automatic rifles, which he had firearm certificates for. In 1996, a man in Dublane killed 16 children and their teacher in a primary school shooting. He legally owned an arsenal of handguns. Since these two events, it is now illegal to own semi-automatic weapons as well as all cartridge ammunition handguns in Britain. There has only been one mass shooting in the UK since 1996 (the Cumbria shootings, 12 dead).

4. In 1996 in Port Arthur, Australia, a mass shooter killed 35 people. Within 2 weeks, the Prime Minister enacted a huge rollout of gun control measures including a new licensing and registration system that requires gun owners to have a genuine reason for their ownership and a nationwide buyback policy for all weapons that didn't comply with the new regulations, ultimately buying back over 650,000 weapons. Studies have shown the suicide rate by gun decline by 74% since this buyback, and there hasn't been a mass shooting in Australia since.

5. Lastly, let's look at Germany. Republicans will be happy to know that Germany proves there are effective gun control measures other than outlawing all guns. Germany has the 15th highest rate of guns per capita, with 5.5 million legal weapons in the hands of 1.4 million people. However, Germany also has one of the lowest rates of gun homicide in Europe. This is attributed to regulation put in place after the Winnenden Massacre of 2009 where a man killed 16 students. Anyone under 25 who wants to purchase a gun has to go through a mandatory psych evaluation with a trained counsellor who will perform personality, instability, and anger management tests. Gun owners over the age of 25 may be called in for similar evaluations if they display suspicious or concerning behavior. A national gun register was also created in 2013, making it more difficult to own multiple weapons and police officers may check in on registered gun owners at random to ensure their weapons are being stored properly.

Looking at these countries specifically, we can see a trend in gun control effecting the number of these incidents. We can also see that there are multiple avenues that can be taken to go about change.

So here's what you can do:

1. Contact your representatives. An easy way to do this is to text "resist" to 504-09. You can then write a letter and choose if you want to send it to congress, senate, the house of representatives, or your governor. Preferably send it to all of the above. And keep contacting them! You can set reminders to send letters every day.

2. Vote. Go to uselections.com to see when the next election in your state is taking place. In 2018, all 435 seats in the House and 33 seats in the Senate will be contested. Primaries will be held mostly in August and the general election will take place on or around November 6th. Check to find out when your state primaries will be held.

3. Make sure you are voting for candidates who are not receiving money from the NRA. This is incredibly important. If a candidate is receiving money and/or promotion from the NRA, they are being paid to be complicit. You cannot count on them to care about gun policy, and no matter how many people are killed in shootings, they will not seek a solution. Look for candidates who are given low ratings from the NRA and speak openly about the need for gun control.

America is the only country where this regularly happens. Children being killed in school, a church being attacked during a time of prayer, people who are just enjoying themselves at a concert or nightclub being gunned down: these things are becoming the new normal. These things should never be normal. Do what you can to enact change, and do it now. Don't wait until it happens to you.

Sources: Juliette Jowit, Sandra Laville, Calla Wahlquist, and Philip Oltermann for The Guardian.
activism
Like

About the Creator

Kath Clarke

i like burritos and bad movies.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.