Effects Of Mass Shootings

Recently there was a mass shooting in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire on a concert from his hotel room leaving 58 people dead and over 500 injured. This incident has reintroduced the issue of mass shootings to our societal conversations. The topic of mass shootings is an emotional one. It triggers the most basic human fear, fear of the unknown. Most people have an emotional bias one way or another on this subject, making it a very sensitive topic of conversation. I will do my best not to offend anyone, if I do offend you please understand that it was not my intention. I will do my best to not let any bias I may have affect examination of this topic. My intention is to examine the topic in a logical manner to better understand the issue. This is a problem that is not going to fix itself. We as a society need to come up with a solution.

As stated before mass shootings have increased drastically throughout the decades. Just within 2017, the number of mass shootings are 293 with several deaths and injuries, (“Gun Violence Archive”). Within the last 10 years, the deadliest mass shootings have occurred in America history, (CNN). Recently in Las Vegas, Nevada held a music festival for people to enjoy and listen to music, but a shooting changed the evening for many. A man was in an hotel near the event and shot down towards the people and killed a total of 58 people and injured at least 200, (CNN). The Orlando shooting was right behind it with a total of 49 dead, (CNN). Since this has become a part of our everyday lives, we rarely hear about all the mass shootings that kill not even into the double digits.

Most of the history about this subject only goes back 70 years ago. Before that, no one knew what mass shootings were. These events were not normally committed during those times. This subject is a relatively new concept predominantly found in the U.S. In a recent study, it shows that we are the leading country for mass-shootings (Willingham). Following our country is the Philippines, with a difference of 72 shootings (Willingham). But it does not stop there. These events are rising with new mass shootings such as the Las Vegas Shooting, which is now the largest one in our country's history with over 50 deaths and over 500 injuries (Yan, et. al.). Even though these shootings are not near Thomasville, they still hit home. These circumstances could easily strike in our town with not time to plan, but to plan, but we could prevent them. Most of these events are mainly located in California,

From this quote, it is clear that, despite worldwide news coverage, mass school shootings or what may be described as rampage shootings, are actually rare events. They only make up a small proportion of the thousands of gun deaths per year in America as a whole.

The biggest impact mass shootings and suicides are on the victims. This can range from physical assault to emotional distress. In the cases of mass shootings, the victims can be identified as the people that were either shot or indirectly harmed through the shooting. In columbine, there were 13 total deaths consisting of 12 students and one teacher. In addition to the deaths, 24 others were wounded with a range of injuries (Library, 2017). Some victims endured a few cuts and bruises from the chaos and others became paralyzed from the gun-shot wounds and are now living life with limitations. One victim was shot three times, two in the back and one in the arm. She suffered nerve damage from the shots in the back and an excruciating painful recovery from the bullet in the arm (Library, 2017). Unfortunately, she was unable to recover nerve damage which paralyzed her from waist down. Another victim was shot twice in the head and suffered traumatic brain injury as he tried to escape out the school window (Library, 2017). These stories were only two of the 24 victims from one incident. Similar stories exist from other mass shootings that display the tragic effects in has on the victims.

Has the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill led to the increase of mass shootings experienced in the US? According to Lankford, several reports suggest that up to 60% of offenders of mass shootings in the US since 1970, exhibited symptoms including depression, delusions, and acute paranoia prior to the commission of their crimes. Further statistics have shown that since 1982, there have been at least 71 public mass shooting across the country; with 34 of these mass shooting having occurred since 2006. A recent analysis of the database by researchers at Harvard University corroborated by a recent FBI study concluded that mass shootings have been on the rise. More than half of the cases involve school or workplace shootings, 12 and 20

When we hear the words mass shooting, most of us immediately pause and begin to think the worst. We are filled with sorrow that soon turns to anger as details of the event emerge. A portion of the population immediately begins to call for more gun regulation and the battle is staged again. This scenario plays out in the media and in the legislative halls around the country and seems to occur on a much too frequent basis. Has the frequency of mass shootings actually increased? Or has technology allowed the media to convey stories within minutes of their occurrence giving the appearance of increasing crime? Many people believe the term mass shooting and inner city are almost synonymous

I've become desensitized and have little reaction to broadcasts about mass shootings, as I have become desensitized about other types of intentional harm and injury to another human being... because of the type of service I provide. I may not have strong emotional reactions anymore to the shootings. Still, can't wrap my mind around how easy it is to take away someone's right to live and breath.

The United States has had over 350 mass shootings in 2015 alone. There is no specific criteria for mass shootings besides that there are multiple victims and it seems to be at random. There have been a number of mass shootings that have made the news worldwide like; the mass shooting at a black church in S.C and the mass shooting in Texas that left over 20 individuals dead or injured. There are several reasons why a mass shooting may occur. The most recent mass shooting happened this month in California and it happened at a home for the mentally ill. On December 2, 2015 Syed Rizwan Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik opened fire on at a holiday party in the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino. Fourteen died and 21 were

The key to understanding why mass shootings happen even though there are laws with consequences against it, all lies within what mass shootings really are, who commits them and why, and what we are doing to stop these felonies. What are mass shootings really? Mass shootings are mass murder. In the article “The Truth About Mass Shootings and Gun Control” by Benjamin Domenench, it states, “In the past century, only 4 out of the eleven worst mass killings involved fire- arm.” Many may say just because only 4 out of the 11 of major mass killings involved fire- arm, guns are still the main cause for mass shootings because “shootings” aren’t “shootings” unless a gun is involved.

Either way mass shootings can be defined, they still present a huge problem in the United States. One popular definition of mass shootings is any incident in which, four or more people have been injured by gun violence. Using this definition the U.S had 204 mass shootings in 204 days in 2015 according to Mass Shooting Tracker a Reddit based organization which has been cited by the Washington Post.

Many news outlets and gun control advocates have been inflating the statistics for mass shootings by saying there has been more than one mass shooting per day (Follman). Mark Follman from Mother Jones claims “...many news outlets keep declaring that there have been upwards of ‘355 mass shootings this year’...it’s stirring undue fear and may be encouraging bad policies...if you count using the federal government’s current criteria...there have been six mass shootings this year”. By using the federal government’s definition of a mass shooting, the data proves that the media has been inflating the statistics by almost 6000%. Follman claims that the effect of this is it’s “stirring undue fear and may be encouraging bad policies”, showing that the media may be influencing the government itself. If the media influences the government in a negative way, then this subjectivity and false information should be controlled in order to have the government make the right

Having protection in each house is something that should be mandatory, especially if there is a whole family living in the house. Gun control is a very serious topic in today’s society; it is basically a pack of policies and laws that keep the use, sale, etc. of guns under control, because without them, people would go crazy. Although California has gun control laws already, the government is trying to make them stricter because of all the incidents such as mass shootings. The use of firearms has been crazy these past few years, there has been plenty of mass shootings killing many police officers and citizens. These tragic events are leading up to the government wanting to take away the Second Amendment just

There are several definitions for what consists of a mass shooting, the best coming from

On October 1, 2017 America was, yet again, devastated when Las Vegas suffered the United States worst mass shooting. One man killed over 50 people and injured 527. After he was finished firing from the 39th floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, he committed suicide. His name was Stephan Paddock (Yan and Park). When most people think of a mass shooting, they think of a terroristic act or someone shooting at a large group of innocent citizens, like Columbine High School or Sandy Hook Elementary School. In actuality, most people do not realize that whenever two or more people are injured or killed by a gun, it is considered a mass shooting. These “mass shootings” happen every day in America and they are one of the leading causes of death in