On October 1, 2017, a gunman opened fire upon a crowd during a concert in Las Vegas of 22,000 people. 59 people were killed and 515 were injured, making this the deadliest mass shooting America has faced. Whenever a tragedy like this happens, politicians lead the discussion to the same conclusion: gun control.
Gun control is always a leading topic whenever there is any sort of deadly shooting in America. Sandy Hook in December 2012 and the Orlando Shooting in June 2016 are just two of the many instances when gun control became a main topic of discussion. A misconception about gun control is that people actually think harsher gun control laws will solve all gun violence which is ironic considering how Chicago has one of the strictest gun laws in America, but, also has one of the highest rates of gun crimes in America.
Now, it’s understandable that people would be a bit more sympathetic towards mass shootings because they hit closer to home. However, if politicians and the media, who are all in favor for stricter gun control laws after an incident like Las Vegas happens, then why are we not hearing about deaths caused by guns in Chicago, Detroit, or even Baltimore? Is there a reason why we don’t see or hear the media talking about the countless gun deaths that are happening daily? It seems disingenuous when all of a sudden that politicians become focused on this situation when it has been going on for years. AP Government teacher, Mr. Stack stated, “Once the tragedy has passed, they lose sight of it as well, which I think is more concerning, due to this overall feeling that we’re becoming immune to such things.”
We have become so focused about why we need to have gun control and why we need more restrictions and regulations to limit the number of people who are able to obtain guns, that in reality, we’re ignoring what’s in front of us. The fact is that creating stricter gun laws will not necessarily reduce the number of people who are killed by guns. People need to understand that stricter gun control laws are not going to prevent gun deaths or mass shootings or anything like that, because it’s not going to stop the people who are committing these crimes, due to the fact that they violate these laws anyway. Unfortunately, the people who follow the law are going to have a harder time exercising their 2nd amendment right to bear arms. Only time will tell what will be necessary to help solve this growing epidemic in America.