10 Questions About Mass Shootings in America — Where Do You Stand? (Part 1)
President Biden should declare National Emergency to ban assault weapons in wake of Super Bowl parade tragedy…
Another day, another mass shooting in America. What a tragic and needless loss of innocent life.
This cannot continue.
It is absolutely shameful for a mass shooting to have occurred Wednesday during the end of a Super Bowl parade for the Kansas City Chiefs attended by close to one million people, according to estimates from news reports.
Kansas City schools were shut down for the day. Therefore, many children were attending the parade, along with their friends and family. About 800 law enforcement officers were on hand to secure the event, according to media reports. But that proved insufficient.
We as a society cannot let ourselves become collectively numb and accepting of a mass shooting epidemic persistently plaguing America.
Enough is enough already!
American citizens need to ask themselves some challenging questions and confront some hard truths.
Daunting Data
Consider the following statistics about mass gun violence in America, as cited by various gun safety groups and researchers:
- There are more firearms among the American civilian population than people — over 400 million according to a global ranking by the Small Arms Survey.
No other country has more guns or annual mass shootings than America.
- Americans alone own about 40% of all guns in the world, more than all civilians combined in 25 other countries.
There have been more mass shootings thus far in 2024 than the number of days in the year.
President Biden said the following Wednesday about the Super Bowl parade tragedy:
- “For this joy to be turned to tragedy in Kansas City cuts deep in the American soul.”
- “Today’s events should move us, shock us, shame us into acting. What are we waiting for?”
- “What else do we need to see? How many more families need to be torn apart?”
No other country comes even close to the USA per gun ownership among its people. And no other country comes even close per cumulative mass shooting incidents.
10 Questions
Ask yourself the 10 questions below to determine where you stand. Perhaps readers can add more questions (and answers) to this non-inclusive list:
- Why does mass gun violence continue to proliferate at an unprecedented level?
- Do you think the alarming trend of mass gun violence must end, even if it means major government regulation of the gun industry?
3. Do you agree with President Biden’s vigorous calls for a national assault weapons ban?’
4. Do you think the framers of the Constitution meant for the Second Amendment to be absolute and subject to no restrictions ever?
5. Do you think that any public places where people congregate are safe in America anymore?
6. What does the mass shooting epidemic say about America’s open democratic society and way of life?
7. Why can’t our political leaders take any effective actions to seriously put a dent in mass gun violence, or at least get the trend down?
8. Do you believe ordinary citizens need military weapons of war for any reason whatsoever?
9. If yes to the above, what’s the reason you support weapons of war, like the AR-15 assault rifle, freely circulating nationwide?
10. What do you think must be done overall, if anything, about the continuing mass shooting crisis (and why)?
Disturbing Trend
It’s worth reiterating that there have already been more mass shootings so far in 2024 than actual days in the year, a disturbing trend, according to the National Gun Archive.
Mass shootings continue to ruin the lives of countless American families and communities.
Mass shootings in public places where people gather continue unabated, including at parades, concerts, movie theaters, grocery stores, malls, etc. The list of mass gun violence incidents keeps growing along with the tragic death toll.
The U.S. Congress is too polarized and dysfunctional to pass bipartisan legislation to curb the mass carnage.
Why do Republicans in Congress — and some conservative Democrats — remain recalcitrant regarding the enactment of smart, sensible gun reforms to stop mass shootings?
This is clearly evidenced by Republican ruthlessness in protecting the powerful gun lobby at the expense of citizens’ safety and wellbeing — the exact opposite of their sworn oath of office under the U.S. Constitution.
The radical right in Congress is at the whim of its chief accomplice and patron, the notorious National Rifle Association (NRA), which is likewise nefarious in its nonstop promotion of pro-gun propaganda.
Republicans in Congress and the NRA now have even more blood on their hands in the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Super Bowl parade.
At least President Biden has shown some backbone by vigorously trying to convince Congress to pass an assault weapons ban.
Is doing nothing to mitigate mass gun violence really a feasible option anymore?
National Emergency
President Biden should act swiftly by issuing an executive order declaring the mass gun epidemic a National Emergency.
Then Biden should invoke his constitutional executive authority as president to slap some stringent regulations on the gun industry in America in order to immediately stop the sale of AR-15 assault rifles and the like to anyone, period.
AR-15 rifles are weapons of war which should only be allocated to military forces and law enforcement, as appropriate.
It should be more than obvious by now that Republican lawmakers keep putting their own political and personal self-interest above the critically important interests of the American people who they were elected to represent?
That’s why President Biden must use his executive authority under the Constitution to outlaw the sale of assault weapons by declaring the epidemic of mass gun violence a National Emergency.
It’s the duty of the Executive Branch to act if Congress and the Supreme Court refuse to take responsible action to maintain public safety.
Presidential action to ban assault weapons by declaring a National Emergency is not a first resort, but it should be the last resort if it means saving innocent lives, including the lives of children.
If you oppose an assault weapons ban, just talk to any family traumatized by mass gun violence.
The Takeaway
Our elected government leaders must do much more to stem mass gun violence immediately. And it should start with an assault weapons ban nationally.
Congress is pathetic and impotent, which is why Biden must exert his executive power before America turns into the Wild West.
It’s outrageous that unchecked gun violence is now the leading cause of death among children in America. Citizens simply don’t need access to an AR-15 or any type of assault weapons for lawful purposes.
The AR-15 has been labeled as the “weapon of choice” for deranged gunmen carrying out mass murders.
This type of firearm, for example, was outlawed when the decade-long assault weapons ban was enacted when I worked for President Bill Clinton — then it expired and Republicans in Congress failed to reauthorize it.
Ask yourself this: Should people be able to purchase assault weapons as effortlessly as bread and milk at the local grocery store?
I think not.
What do YOU think?
*** Also, don’t forget to check out Part 2 of this series ***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: I’m a former White House political appointee for President Bill Clinton. I also worked in Congress and federal government agencies.
