Another School Shooting
What’s wrong with the above title?
“School Shooting” is awful. But the word “Another” indicates something is sorely amiss in our nation.
On Wednesday, September 4, The Wall Street Journal reported, “Wednesday’s shooting was the worst mass school shooting since six were killed at a Nashville, Tennessee, school in March of 2023.”
The Washington Post printed, “It was the deadliest school shooting of 2024.”
Mass murder has become so normalized that we talk about it like it was the Olympics.
How many times in recent years have I read the words “the worst mass shooting since…” Have we become so inured to mass shooting in schools (and other public places) that we no longer think in terms of these events being monstrous in and of themselves? We think of them only in their relationship to one another? I understand that we can’t all stop what we’re doing every time there is a shocking headline, but we have become so immune it boils down to scorekeeping.
Well, here are some scores—acquired from the Post—that should make us carve out some time in our busy lives to call our legislators, write letters to editors, and/or stage massive protests on capitol steps demanding greater attention to gun safety laws:
- More than 382,000 students have experienced gun violence at school since Columbine.
- There have been 416 school shootings since 1999
The Wall Street Journal reports that as of August 26 there had been “at least 133 gunfire incidents on school grounds this year that resulted in 38 deaths…” and “Last year there were 158 incidents and 45 deaths…”
In response to the most recent shooting, President Biden himself said, “What should have been a joyous back-to-school season in Winder, Georgia, has now turned into another horrific reminder of how gun violence continues to tear our communities apart.” Another horrific reminder. One after another they come. And we, as a country, do little to stem their coming.
Here’s some food for thought: The Washington Post “reviewed more than 180 shootings committed by juveniles since Columbine, and in cases where the source of the gun could be determined, 86 percent of the weapons were found in the homes of friends, relatives or parents.” Legislation could inhibit this flow of guns to teenagers. We need stricter laws about lending guns, leaving guns unlocked, and the consequences an adult must pay if a gun winds up in the hands of a child.
Or, perhaps, in anyone’s hands other than the registered owner.
The notion of outlawing guns—or even specific kinds of guns—is highly unpopular. But what if, instead, guns were acutely owner specific: If you are the registered owner of a firearm, and somebody else is found with your firearm in their possession—whether or not they commit a heinous act—you will pay a penalty. A severe penalty. You are responsible for the whereabouts of your gun at all times. You can’t just hand it over to your wife or your son or your neighbor. You dare not even set it down on the family table if you are not present. Might this stem the careless flow of guns to youth who aren’t quite mature enough to fully grasp the gravity of shooting classmates in a fit of anger or frustration? Or a distorted desire for fame?
Recently the news has been full of concern about how cell phones are interfering with classroom performance. Well, guns in classrooms interfere with learning, too.