Opinion: Only offering “thoughts and prayers” does nothing to solve gun violence. Yet, when politicians’ lives are on the line, they take strict precautions and ban guns. Make it make sense.
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In 2021, 3,044 students were supposed to walk across the stage and receive their high school diplomas. Instead, they lost their lives to gun violence. They are The Lost Class. While data for the class of 2022 has not yet been released, the estimated number of students is currently 3,239.
But gun violence affects more than just school children; it is parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, friends and coworkers. It is everyone who has lost their life or the life of a loved one. In just the past month alone, 79 people have been killed due to gun violence.
Everytime a mass shooting in America occurs though, the response never changes. The internet immediately begins to offer their thoughts and prayers and ask when will we be done seeing this occur on a regular basis. Politicians do the same; those on the left state that stricter gun laws need to be enacted while those on the right look to blame mental illness and our unpreparedness.
Politicians only ever talk though. They don’t enact laws banning assault rifles or mandating red flag background checks. H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, passed through the House of Representatives in March 2021. A year and numerous mass shootings later, the Senate still refuses to pass it.
As it currently stands, background checks are only required when firearms are purchased from licensed gun dealers. There is no requirement for background checks when firearms are transferred or sold from unlicensed dealers. This bill would make background checks required in every firearm sale.
“Specifically, it prohibits a firearm transfer between private parties unless a licensed gun dealer, manufacturer, or importer first takes possession of the firearm to conduct a background check,” according to the bill.
This piece of legislation doesn’t seem too extreme amongst the calls for a complete ban of assault rifles, but senators will not pass the bill because their desire for power is stronger than the desire to protect children and the citizens of this country.
If the Republican senators suddenly decide to gain some morals, they risk losing their seats in future elections. But god forbid the risk of reelection outweighs a fourth grader being unable to walk out of their school alive.
It isn’t until they fear for their own lives do they act to protect themselves
Only days after the Uvadale shooting that left two teachers and 19 students dead, the National Rifle Association Annual Leadership Forum was held in Houston, less than 300 miles away from the shooting.
Headlined by former president Donald Trump and featuring senators, governors, lieutenant governors and two top NRA officials, the event steams full speed ahead despite the recent crisis.
However, the Secret Service has banned firearms, firearm accessories, knives and other dangerous items from the general assembly for fear that somebody may try to kill these important speakers. A strict limit that would normally be opposed by the NRA and Trump.
This shouldn’t be the case though. If the NRA so boldly claims that “guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” there should be no gun restrictions at this event. Surely, no one at this convention has a mental illness and has access to a weapon. But wait, these same politicians also refuse to address mental health issues unless a mass shooting has occurred.
After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, Trump and Republicans were quick to blame mental illness. After a shooting in El Paso, Texas, in 2019, Governor Greg Abbott was again quick to blame mental illness.
In the statement that Abbott made, he said, “Bottom line is mental health is a large contributor to any type of violence or shooting violence, and the state of Texas this past session passed a lot of legislation and provided funding for the state to better address that challenge.”
If Texas has done so much work in passing legislation and funding for mental health reasons, why did this shooting still happen? Why is the immediate blame on mental health and how are shootings supposed to be prevented if a person is deemed mentally ill only after they murder another person?
The truth is mental illness and gun violence don’t have that large of a connection and placing the blame on mental illness doesn’t solve anything.
Dr. James Alan Fox, a criminologist with Northeastern University said, “There’s not really a correlation. We like to think that these people are different from the rest of us. We want a simple explanation and if we just say they’re mentally ill, case closed.”
Further, Representative Veronica Escobar said, “It further stigmatizes those who truly suffer from mental illness, and the fact of the matter is people with mental illness are far more likely to be victims of violent crime, not perpetrators.”
Mental health shouldn’t be discussed only after a shooting occurs and the instinct to deem White shooters as mentally ill, while POC are deemed “thugs” and “terrorists” just perpetuates a cycle of racism and reaction instead of proactive measures.
I’m truly tired of politicians holding themselves above everyone else. I’m tired of politicians not being held accountable once they’ve been elected into office.
