Thoughts about Gun Violence in the USA

Gun violence in America is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. The speaker grew up in a household with guns but believes responsible gun ownership is lacking. Gun violence statistics are alarming, with over 300 people shot every day, including children. School shootings have become more frequent, leading to intense lockdown drills for even preschoolers. Arming teachers is not the solution, and safer alternatives must be explored. Recommendations to prevent gun violence include sensible gun laws, establishing a culture of safety, and recognizing gun violence as a public health problem. The media struggles to cover the high number of shootings happening daily. The speaker urges people to spread awareness and demand action from state representatives to create positive change and reduce gun violence. Hi and welcome to the Let's Find Hidden Gems podcast. Today we're going to talk about a more serious discussion and it is going to be about gun violence in America. All right let's go ahead and get started. 6845 shots fired at my location requesting additional units and a The sound of gunshots are becoming more and more common. When I was growing up I grew up in a household that had guns and it was normal to hear gunshots go off on days like the 4th of July intermingled with the fireworks. It was also normal to hear gunshots even if they were just blanks at veterans funerals to pay respects. Growing up I would go to shooting ranges for fun and I know that there are positives such as personal protection and hunting purposes. However I rarely hear about Americans and responsible gun ownership in the same sentence. I believe that the issue is not about the gun itself but the intentions of the wielder of the gun. The point that I'm getting at is now as an adult I hear gunshots in the distance but it's not to celebrate. Now I wait and I watch the evening news to find out information about the latest shooting incident. According to teamenough.org they speak on statistics about gun violence and they said that on average every day in America 316 people are shot in murders, assaults, suicides, suicide attempts, unintentional shootings, and police intervention. They also go on to mention that 7,957 children and teens are shot in the United States and of those 7,957 children that are shot every year 1,663 of them die from gun violence. This number is increasing every year and I'm beginning to hear about school shooting events more frequently over the past five years. This cannot be an acceptable new normal. I graduated high school in 2012 and I remember having to do school shooter drills in middle and high school. The teacher would lock the door, turn out all the lights, and tell the students to huddle up together in a sitting fetal position in a corner of the room furthest from the door. Fast forward to today's school lockdown drills and they are completely different. Now students as young as three to five years old in preschool must learn about what to do for an active shooter drill situation and it's creating a new type of fear and uncertainty in our children and their future. Now students are told it's better for students to hide apart from each other instead of huddling up together in a corner of the room because if a shooter happens to make it inside the classroom then it's harder for them to shoot as many kids if they're dispersed throughout the room and it leads to a better chance that the teacher or other students might be able to attack or disarm the shooter by using the other kids as a distraction. Unfortunately this is the dark reality that our children are having to grow up with. I think we are failing our children because it is possible to make a safer environment for them but all the solutions that have been implemented are less than ideal. Teachers should not have to train and carry guns because of the increased probability of a school shooting happening. It is not our educators job to lay their life down on the line to protect. That is the law enforcement's job. Teachers only job should be to teach. Sure some teachers are okay and would prefer to carry a gun because it makes them feel safe but for other teachers it makes them uncomfortable to be expected to take on that role because many teachers feel like they did not sign up for that. Teachers are already underpaid as it is. We don't need more incentives to have our educators walk out on us when other solutions have proven to be a way better alternative than arming our teachers. My hope is that we can better educate people and have higher expectations when it comes to guns and gun safety. According to preventioninstitute.org this is a list of some of the recommendations for how to prevent gun violence. One, sensible gun laws. Reduce easy access to dangerous weapons by banning high capacity magazines and bump stocks. Require universal background checks without loopholes, instituting waiting periods, and reinstituting the assault weapons ban immediately. Two, establish a culture of safety by reducing firearm access to youth and individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others by implementing background checks, supporting domestic violence bills, and gun violence restraining orders. Some things that follow underneath that are holding the gun industry accountable and ensure that there is adequate oversight over the marketing and sales of guns and ammunition. There is a need to repeal gun industry immunity laws in the states that have them to ensure that sellers are responsible and that sellers obtain their state licenses, maintain record of sales, and submit to inspections and fulfill other requirements. It's also important to engage responsible gun dealers and owners in solutions such as being trained in suicide prevention, insist on mandatory training and licensing for owners. This should include recurring education to renew permits with a graduated licensing process, at least as stringent for driver's licenses. Require safe and secure gun storage as well. Three, public health solutions recognize gun violence as a critical and preventable health problem. Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the country, yet unlike other preventable causes of death, we haven't mustered the political will to address it. Gun violence is most noticed when multiple people die at once, but it affects too many communities and families on a daily basis, whether through suicide, domestic violence, community violence, or other forms. According to gunviolencearchive.org, which is a site that keeps recordings of shooting incidents, IDs, the date it happened, the state it happened in, and usually links an article giving details about what occurred in each shooting. It says that from April 1st, 2023 to April 17th, 2023, there were 33 mass shooting events in the United States. That is nearly two mass shootings occurring per day. The media is having a hard time covering each shooting and giving the attention each needs because of how frequent these shootings are happening. I don't want to perpetuate a society that is so numb to shootings happening that we continue to take no action to protect our future and our children's future. As we speak, new gun laws are being implemented that I believe are to the detriment of the American people. For instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, after meeting up with the NRA, which is otherwise known as the National Rifle Association, recently signed a GOP sponsored bill into law that allows people to carry concealed firearms without a permit, making Florida the 26th state with a permitless concealed carry law. I think the notion behind this is that it will hopefully decrease gun violence by intimidating criminals and those that would have the attention to go out and shoot someone by insinuating that since everyone can carry, that anyone can make the shooter accountable for their actions by shooting the shooter. However, it's meeting violence with violence and that's not the answer either. This law just makes it easier for guns to fall into the wrong hands. Therefore, I leave you with this thought to contemplate. You can do nothing or you can spread awareness for what's going on and spread solutions for how to deal with this gun violence crisis that America is experiencing on a daily basis. Talk to your neighbors, your family, your friends. By no means am I wanting to take away the Second Amendment, but I believe responsible gun ownership laws make all the difference. It is important to normalize this type of discussion so people will learn to contact their state representatives demanding that action be taken and to stop laws from being made that allow guns to fall in the wrong hands easier. With enough of the public's voices being taken into consideration, I am sure that we can create some positive change and reduce the amount of gun violence that is experienced in the United States.