Summary

A mother expresses her distress and frustration over the prevalent gun violence in America, particularly in schools, and calls for immediate action to ban assault rifles and address mental health issues.

Abstract

The article is a poignant reflection on the impact of gun violence in America from the perspective of a mother. It highlights the emotional toll on parents who must prepare their children for the possibility of school shootings, a concern that was non-existent in her own childhood in India. The piece underscores the frequency of mass shootings in the U.S., facilitated by widespread gun ownership, and contrasts this with the American constitutional right to bear arms. The author recounts her own experience with gun violence shortly after arriving in America and criticizes the normalization of such incidents. The article advocates for a New Zealand-style ban on assault rifles and emphasizes the need for a non-political, united front by parents and children to enforce stricter gun control. It also points out the necessity of addressing the underlying mental health crisis to prevent future tragedies.

Opinions

The author believes that the politics surrounding gun control in America are ludicrous and that the country's love affair with guns is at the expense of innocent lives.
She is critical of the American sentiment towards the right to bear arms, viewing it as a deep-rooted issue that overshadows the tragic consequences of gun violence.
The author is skeptical of the effectiveness of stricter background checks and arming teachers as solutions to gun violence.
She advocates for an immediate ban on assault rifles, similar to New Zealand's response after the Christchurch shootings.
The article suggests that mass shootings are a frequent occurrence in the U.S. and are not adequately addressed by the current political climate.
The author emphasizes the need for a collective effort by parents and children to push for gun reform, rather than allowing the issue to be politicized.
There is a strong opinion that the prevalence of mental health issues in America contributes significantly to gun violence and must be urgently addressed.
The author expresses a sense of helplessness and cyclical grief over the recurring nature of school shootings, indicating that the problem is often ignored until it affects one's own community.

A Mother’s Take on the Gun Violence in America

Enough with the ludicrous politics around gun control and gun reforms. The whole world knows that America will do nothing to alter its love affair with guns — even at the expense of innocent lives.

But we parents are sick to the stomach.

This morning my 12-year-old placidly heard me preach about ways to safeguard herself in case a gunman opens fire in her school.

I said, “Lie down and pretend to be dead — Pray silently in your heart. And no matter what, please don’t scream for help!”

She assured me her school was safe. They have bolted locks in every classroom, video surveillance, security guards, and regular safety training drills.

Then it hit me. Gun violence was NEVER something my parents had to worry about while sending me to school in India.

Mass shootings inside schools are an appalling American Reality Show.

This is a country where civilian-owned guns outnumber the total population. According to a 2018 report by the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey organization, US gun owners possess 393.3 million weapons. The U.S. population is just 330 million.

Random mass shootings are becoming disgracefully common. It can happen anywhere and at any time.

On Tuesday, May 24th, 19 elementary school children and two teachers were brutally killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

This only happens in America.

My First Experience with Gun Violence

In the early 1990s, a few months after arriving in America I was taking GED bridge courses at a local NorCal community college. Within minutes of sitting in a packed classroom of students in a Business Law class, we heard loud shots.

What was that?

The instructor paused, casually mumbled that it sounded like a gunshot, and resumed his lesson.

When I walked out into the campus courtyard, there were yellow-caution-tapes all around.

A student had shot another student.

Welcome to America. Land of the free with students carrying guns in their pockets.

The Sentiment of “Right to Bear Arms” Runs Deep in the American Veins

Sometime back a friend, whose kids study at the same school as mine said, “Bearing arms is our constitutional right. We cannot let anybody change that. My father lives in a remote town in the midwest and owns several guns. It’s a safety requirement in case the cops cannot get to him on time.”

I was speechless.

She’s a mild-mannered, quiet person who would never hurt an ant. Yet her stance on guns showed how deep the right to bear arms runs in the American veins.

I asked her, “What about all the mass shootings?”

She said, “That’s a tragic side-effect but it doesn’t happen very often.”

She is woefully mistaken.

It happens way too often.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks mass shootings in the U.S., Tuesday’s gruesome school shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, elementary school marks more than 200 mass shootings so far this year.

This is a country where a mentally sick person can get their hands on a gun, faster than an appointment with a mental healthcare professional.

What can be done?

Stricter background checks are not the answer. Neither will handing out guns to teachers solve the problem.

With 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, there are way too many guns waiting to be picked up by the wrong hands.

What we need is the New Zealand-style consensus of banning Assault Rifles immediately.
Parents and kids protesting together to enforce this ban instead of letting the left- and right-wing politicize this over the dead bodies of innocent children.
Plus, we urgently need to address the deeper issue ailing this country. Rapidly growing mental health concerns. Until we treat the ailing mind behind the trigger, this situation will continue to rise unabated.

For now, it’s someone else’s child. We watch in horror, grieve briefly, and then carry on with our lives. Tomorrow, it could be our child, and others will watch in horror, grieve briefly, and carry on with their lives.

It’s just another day in paradise.

Welcome to America.