Not Just Numbers
27 school shootings in the United States in 2022 – Education Week
214 mass shootings across the country in 2022 – Gun Violence Archive
The above are just numbers — statistics void of life. Incapable of thought or feeling, they represent the loss of life and the greatest depth of feeling.
We Americans are proud to boast that “we are number one.” And we are in many areas. Yet, we rank 30th in healthcare, according to CEOWorld. The United States is 128th out of 163 countries in safety, according to World Population Review.
One area where we are the undisputed champs is in firearms deaths, reports the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. When we look at gun deaths per 100,000, the U. S. ranks number one among countries with more than 10 million residents.
Death Is Good For Business
The day after Tuesday’s massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, forensics teams were still trying to identify victims through DNA samples. Townspeople gathered at the school. A prayer vigil was held and flowers were laid at an impromptu memorial.
On Wall Street, stocks of gunmakers were on the rise. Shares of Smith & Wesson were up 10 percent in morning trading followed by Sturm, Ruger & Company which saw its price climb 5.8 percent.
In Houston, the National Rifle Association (NRA) was preparing for its annual convention.
Uvalde was the second mass shooting in 10 days. The preceding slaughter took place at a grocery store in Buffalo, N.Y. There, 10 people died.
Same Ol’ Same Ol’
It might seem shocking that investors and weapons manufacturers profit from the deaths of children. However, it is not. It is the norm.
Here is the macabre pattern. A deranged or evil person kills a group of people. Arms producers’ stock prices jump as investors rush to capitalize on fears of consumers that gun purchases will be restricted.
Consumers fulfill that belief by purchasing more guns and ammo.
Two mass shootings in El Paso, TX, and Dayton, OH that killed 31 people one weekend in 2019 led to a surge in weapons company stocks and gun sales.
Fear & National Divide (NRA & Right-Wing Politicians)
The United States has become a fearful and angry nation. Many of our leaders have stoked those destructive fires.
For years, the NRA has profited by stoking those fears and fueling that anger. It popularized slogans such as, “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold dead hands” and “if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns”.
The NRA also poured millions of dollars into campaign funds for politicians who supported the organization’s pro-gun agenda. However, infighting and scandal in the organization have diminished its power. But that does not mean the political sway of gun owner fear has lost its power.
Candidates from both parties have begun running ads for the November elections. Since the beginning of the year, Republicans and aligned groups have run over 100 ads touting guns.
Those ads have featured candidates displaying or using firearms ranging from pistols to assault rifles.
In one ad, Jim Lamon, a Republican candidate for the U. S. Senate is shown in cowboy attire telling Democratic figures it is “time for a showdown”. The Democrats, including President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and incumbent Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, are portrayed by actors.
Lamon disburses the Democrats by shooting at them.
Kelly’s wife is former Congressperson, Gabby Giffords. She was shot point-blank in the head on Jan. 8, 2011, during a mass shooting in a Tucson suburb. Gifford survived. However, six people died in the shooting. They included one of Gifford’s staff members, Gabe Zimmerman, and nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green. Green was born on Sept. 11, 2001.
A-15
The gun used in the Uvalde shooting was an A-15 type weapon known as a DDM4 Rifle, according to the Associated Press. Its maker, Daniel Defense, says it is the primary weapon used by the U. S. military.
The A-15 is a semi-automatic weapon capable of firing until its magazine is empty by pulling on and holding the trigger.
The Uvalde shooter purchased the weapon and another semi-automatic weapon along with ammunition legally, according to Texas law enforcement officials. However, he would not have been able to purchase the same weapons between 1994 and 2004. That is because a law banning the sale of such weapons was in place.
As a result of the assault weapon ban, mass shootings declined markedly. However, when the ban was lifted in 2004 – mass shootings accelerated dramatically.
Conclusion
Abraham Lincoln told a friend worried about the president’s safety that nothing could stop someone determined enough, and without regard for their own life, from killing him.
Opponents of gun regulation echo Lincoln’s argument. And, they are right. If someone is intent enough, they will find a way to kill.
However, we can impede or prevent mass murder. In addition, we can do that without violating the lawful rights of responsible people to own guns.
We can prohibit gun ownership by people with a violent or criminal history.
We can strengthen background checks and mandate training.
Perhaps, most importantly, we can re-institute the ban on semi-automatic weapons.
One thing we can not do is standby while our children are needlessly slaughtered.
These are not statistics. These are the Lives Lost in Uvalde.
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Max K. Erkiletian began writing for newspapers while still in high school. He went on to become an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the print magazine Free Bird. He has written for a wide range of regional and national publications as well as many on-line publications. That has afforded him the opportunity to interview a variety of prominent figures from former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Paul Volker to Blues musicians Muddy Waters and B. B. King. Max lives in Springfield, MO with his wife Karen and their two cats. He spends as much time as possible with his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.