The recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas is the most recent in a trend of school shootings in the United States.
In just 2022 so far, there have been 27 school shootings, according to education week. These tragic incidents have gained considerable media attention and sparked conversations about the larger issues of mass shootings and gun control.
“It’s terrifying to know there are kids who wake up every day and fear for their lives when going to a place that is supposed to be a safe and nurturing environment,” says college student Emma Caponetto.
As information about the Uvalde shooting has continued to be released, there have been many inconsistencies in the timeline, as well as anger at how police reacted. Despite many 911 calls and police on the scene, the gunman was able to enter the school for an hour and a half before the confrontation with law enforcement resulting in his death, according to a timeline by The Texas Tribune.
This is not the first time a shooting has led to cries for increased gun control and policy changes. The Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 gained a great deal of media attention and felt very personal to many.
“I grew up around 30 minutes away and I won’t ever forget that day. It was terrifying being a student and seeing something like that happen so close to me. I live in an area that is considered very safe where things like this rarely happen, so it was a much-needed reality check on the terrible reality of what could happen at any time,” says Connecticut resident Nina Stoops.
These school shootings are part of a larger trend of Mass shootings in the US. In 2021, there were a total of 692 mass shootings, which is up from 272 in 2014, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Due to the significant amount of shootings, various groups have formed and people have rallied behind them trying to get gun control legislation passed. One group, EveryTown for Gun Safety, is one of many of these such organizations.
According to their website page on mass shootings, EveryTown for Gun Safety is pushing for background checks on all gun sales, implementing extreme risk laws, prohibiting assault weapons, prohibiting high capacity magazines, and blocking silencer deregulation among others.
“It is crucial for people to understand that change can’t happen without action. If you want legislative changes, you need to be active in voting and electing candidates who will actually make those changes. Only then will we be able to try and fix these issues and implement the necessary changes,” says Leslie Washington who works for EveryTown for Gun Safety.
One notable past legislation is the Federal Assault Weapons Ban from 1994, however, this policy had only a 10-year window. Since its expiration in 2004, no similar bans have been passed.
In 2013, after the Sandy Hooke shooting, some lawmakers attempted to pass legislation such as a renewal of the assault weapons ban, increases on background checks, and a limit on ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. However, these all failed to make it passed the senate.
According to an article by Steve Miller, often what happens is a “gridlock” in which legislation isn’t passed. He says it begins with a big event that sparks activism by those who want stricter gun control laws, whose attempts are then met with resistance from pro-gun organizations such as the NRA influencing lawmakers.
“I feel like in general lately, it feels so difficult to get meaningful legislation passed. There are so many views, and while having opinions is great people need to be able to come to some sort of agreement,” says Political science student MaryBeth Gentry.
When looking at the gridlock theory in relation to the Uvalde shooting, the first signs are there. A major mass shooting has occurred and now people are lobbying together so this does not happen again.
Such people’s work has already been met with a great amount of discourse, however, time will only tell whether this round of activism will result in meaningful gun-control legislation being passed.
“I think people need to keep pushing and fighting for what they believe in. We always see a lot of activism right after big events, but it feels like that momentum usually dies down before we’re able to make a change. Even when you’re tired and feeling hopeless, you need to just keep fighting for the thousands of people who’ve died,” says Caponetto.
The overall debate on gun legislation has been highly politicized. This has caused a wide partisan divide on the issue.
According to a poll done by the Pew Research Center, 20% of Republicans or those who lean republican believe gun laws should be more strict, whereas 27% believe they should be less strict. In comparison, 81% of Democrats or democratic-leaning persons believe gun laws should be stricter and 4% believe they should be less strict.
While there are many reasons for this divide, Miller notes importantly in his article that the NRA has essentially tied pro-gun sentiments inexplicably with the conservative party.
“The work we are doing is highly political, however, gun safety should not be an issue between republicans and democrats. It should be in the interest of all people to save innocent lives, and we hope to see changes to make gun-control a bipartisan issue,” says Washington.
In an article about the politicization of gun violence, Benjamin Kantack touches on how those of different political parties may perceive and react to gun violence, supporting Miller’s gridlock theory.
In a debate, Kantack says that republicans who are anti-gun control will often argue that any proposed changes would not have prevented whatever the most recent shooting was, and will often seek to protect their preexisting beliefs. Alternatively, Democrats will argue you cannot discount the effectiveness of a policy just because it may not have prevented whatever example opposers may bring forth.
He concludes in his study that efforts to push for gun-control reform, especially following major shootings, are not seemingly an effective method of changing public opinion.
“People make politics seem so black and white, republican or democrat. Not enough people are willing to sit down, listen, and talk with someone about their beliefs respectfully. We need more bipartisanship if we want to get things like gun-control legislation passed,” says Gentry.
This finding begs the questions of what can be done, and how would such be achieved.
Uvalde was the most recent mass shooting in the United States, however, it will surely not be the last. 18,000 lives have been lost to gun violence just this year, according to the gun violence archive, and sadly this number is set to climb.
For ways to get involved in fighting gun violence in America, you can visit the EveryTown Website and see a list of ways you can take action.
MFJS Reporter Spring 2022 