The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Bella Mezzacapo photojournalist
We are only weeks into the new year, yet, there have been 44 mass shootings within this time span. With 73 deaths and 100+ injured, what is going to be done? On New Year’s Day alone, there were six shootings, resulting in four deaths and 29 people injured. What has our country come to? What’s going to be done? What now?
Personally, I do not have a great experience with guns. I have never liked them, and I do not think I ever will. However, that does not mean I am pro-gun control. I don’t think everyone should have their precious weapons taken away. But I do think that they should be limited.
I am a firm believer in the fact that if somebody wanted to kill someone, they would find any way to do it. I do believe that people kill people and that guns do not, but guns sure do seem to make it easier.
Four in every ten US adults live in a household with a gun and 30% personally own one, according to Pew Research. With that, only six percent of Americans say that gun violence is “not a problem at all” within the US. So, wouldn’t the people who do think it’s a very big problem (48%), or a problem at all (the remaining 46%) try and rid the problem by getting rid of their guns, for those who have them at least, altogether? Also according to Pew Research, most gun owners in America are white males ages 50-65+ who have completed some college, are from rural areas, mostly the South, and are Conservative.
Clearly, it isn’t very compelling news to find out that last fact considering that the foundation our country was built on, the US Constitution, values the right to bear arms over the right to a fair trial, and considering exactly who founded our country (old white men).
In a survey done in 2017, there were about 393 million firearms in the US, meaning that there were far more guns than people. Obviously, not every person in the US owns a gun, so that means that some own multiple or many. Of the 393 million firearms there are in our country, only about six million of them are registered. Only 1.5% of all guns in our country are registered. Although it is a Class B felony, in most states, to unlawfully possess a firearm, it obviously isn’t stopping anybody.
To put things into perspective for you, think about how many people in our country drive. A lot of people own cars and drive every day. Every day that you are behind the wheel, you are putting yourself and others at risk. Obviously people are still going to drive, but some people should not. Some people who don’t have a license, don’t have insurance, registration, have vision problems, they are all still going to drive.
Overall, there really is nothing that can be done about the number of shootings, unregistered guns, or deaths in our county due to guns. What can be done though is taking accountability. Recognize what you’re doing, accept that it’s wrong, and fix it. If your gun isn’t registered, register it. If you own more than one firearm for “protection,” reevaluate. It’s a new year, we should be bettering ourselves and our nation, not attacking each other and worsening things,