The United States was recently hit by the deadliest school shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre in 2012. While politicians continue to debate why mass shootings happen in the US and how they can be curbed, there is something more sinister than just politics at play here. We break it down.
How many mass shootings have happened in the US in recent times?
In the last couple of decades, the US has seen eight mass shootings in schools that have claimed the lives of more than ten people each. These include the Sandy Hook massacre that killed 20 first-grade students, the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that killed 14 children and the Columbine High School shooting where two students killed 12 schoolmates. Since 1999, the US has seen almost 100 incidents of mass shootings, which have claimed the lives of at least 2,000 people, according to the Mother Jones' Mass Shooting Data Set by Reuters. This does not include incidents of gun violence that claimed the lives of less than three people. Between 2010 to 2020, there was a 43 per cent increase in the fatalities from gun violence in America. In a single year, 2020, more than 45,000 people were killed by a firearm and, out of these, 54 per cent were suicides.
What is causing gun violence in America?
Well, one side of this debate is that there are too many guns in America, currently at a ratio of 120.5 per 100 people. That is higher than countries battling ongoing civic unrest. Countries with stricter gun control laws such as the UK and Australia have better records when compared to the US. In fact, Australia has had no mass shootings since 1996, after its deadliest, where a man killed 35 people with a gun. After this, stringent gun control laws were implemented in the country.
Why does the US not introduce gun control legislation?
Senator Ted Cruz from Texas calls the possession of guns a constitutional right of the American citizen. On the other hand, US president Joe Biden called on politicians to take action and stand up to the gun lobby. Led by the influential National Rifles Association (NRA), the gun lobby advocates for the right to possess firearms and has worked with politicians, through talks and funds, to create legislation that has made it easier for Americans to access and own guns.
Will anything change?
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that today's shocking incident will create more than a blip on the radar of legislation in the US. Legislators such as Ted Cruz from the Republican party support the stance of the gun lobby and state that passing gun control laws will not reduce shootings. The age-old argument is that a bad guy with a gun can be stopped by a good guy with a gun.
