Mass Shootings : A Country Helpless Against Mass Shooters

However such bans are ineffective at preventing mass shootings as “Adam Lanza had plenty of time to reload his guns, as did the shooters at Texas Tech in 2007 and Columbine in 1999” (Domenech n.p.) and “assault weapons…applied to guns used or carried by criminals in at most 2 percent of all gun crimes” (Domenech n.p.). Because of the ineffectiveness of gun control, background checks, and assault weapon bans, the best way to prevent mass shootings is to ban gun use altogether.

The solutions suggested generally fall into 3 main categories: gun policy, media violence, and, lastly, mental health, which at some level can be considered to tie together every mass shooting incident committed, as no one could argue that mass shootings are the work of sound minds. The lowest hanging fruit is gun legislation. After every mass shooting incident this topic comes up without fail. One political entity pushes for more policies designed to restrict gun ownership in some way, and the other entity pushes back with arguments of “too soon,” and “slippery slopes” sliding towards eventual abolishment of the Second Amendment. Although no single law will ever eliminate mass shootings or gun violence entirely, a sound, unbiased mind not beholden to special interest monies would hopefully see that there are some real legislative moves that could be made to put a dent in deaths that

Mass shootings have been at the top of the headlines recently in the United States. These shootings are causing a major impact on those who reside in America. Something must be done immediately to bring down the frequency of these shootings so that one can be safe anywhere. There are many ways to stop this devastation that is bringing America to tears, but the most effective is to have stricter gun laws in the country. Control laws must be more harsh in order for there to be a decrease in mass shootings across the country.

Admittedly, the amount of mass shootings in America is still going on onto this day, as last week, California had a recent one, carried out by a couple with assault grade weapons. Thus, this topic was brought up countless time on the news, what could be done. I believe pretending is part of the problem. These things happen over and over again and yet we do nothing and pretend it won’t happen again. Changing nothing and then believing something will change is a ludicrous ideology. This same ideology is being used by many Americans, we are given examples of other place throughout the world on how they turn their country gun problem around, similar to Australia, yet we pretend we don’t notice just like we pretend we don't notice our country's

Most of the recent shootings seem to be contagious as their shooters’ plans and motives are almost all quite alike. These shooters have set a “stereotypical shooter” profile. They are typically male, white, and around the age of 20. Of all the mass shootings, only one was done by a woman (Mass Shootings in the U.S.). They are usually quite smart, part of a middle class family, and are normally quiet, lonely, and introverted. They are almost always socially awkward and have few-no friends. Yet, no one expects them to kill others as they are quiet. These shooters keep everything to themselves which may be one of the reasons why they are full of hatred. Often, they consider suicide, yet they refuse to talk to any sort of counselor. They are almost always constantly on a computer, frequently playing violent video games. Their shooting plan is almost always pre-meditated far in advance. They plan to make their shooting “great” and to ‘gain fame’ for their mass shooting. After the shooting, most commonly, they kill themselves.

According to FBI.gov, an official site of the U.S. government, the FBI standards are three people must be killed by gunfire for it to be considered a mass shooting. The standards used in on shootingtracker.com are that four people have to at least be injured by gunfire, including the shooter, for it to be considered mass. Shootings have been responsible for more than 1,500 injuries and over 380 deaths throughout the entire U.S. this year. “I find it extremely shocking and heartbreaking that something so awful has struck so many of our communities,” says senior Reilly Carson. “The fact that there have been more shootings than days shows that there is something that needs to be changed.”

It seems like an epidemic to turn on the television and have the screen be bombarded with news broadcasts surrounding a school, college, and even churches and having those two words engrained at the bottom, “Mass Shooting”. In just those two words dread stabs its way into our hearts. Soon the media interviews a bystander that witnessed the massacre. They describe how the blissful harmony of mundane life was broken by the abrupt thwack of lead as it glides through the air. The number of mass shootings has exponential increased. What drives a person to such an immoral act? Finding the irrational motivation behind this problem goes deeper than blaming firearms, instead it means finding the cure to the virus of mass shootings through the three causes in the seeking of glorification, lack of an authoritative figure, and the obsession of some radical ideology that devalues respect of human lives. These three factors are in part what have allowed the once random acts of mass shootings into an increasing occurrence of everyday life in America.

From 1966 to 2012, nearly a third of the world's mass shootings took place in the U.S. According to a 2016 study, it surveyed 292 incidents and found that 90 of them occurred in America. While the U.S. has 5% of the world's population, it had 31% of all public mass shootings. According to the Gun Violence Archive, which compiles data from shooting incidents, a mass shooting is any incident where four or more people are wounded or killed. By that definition, we've seen 136 mass shootings in the first 164 days of this year. With these statistics we must figure out how to stop mass killings, some examples would include media responsibility, gun control, and helping the mental health.

While several shooters had several traits in common, none of these traits were shared by all of the shooters who have been studied. The most common trait among active shooters is the perception that they were wronged in some way by someone or some entity. The majority of active shooters were not seen as loners and many had friends. Also, the majority of these shooters experienced some type of major loss (death of family member, etc.) prior to the incident. What the study found did not have any noticeable effect was violent video games, movies or other type of media. Very few active shooters showed any interest in this type of media prior to the active shooter event. However, over a third of active shooters did themselves write violent stories or poems (Ferguson, Coulson and Barnett, 2011). This study did focus more on school shootings, rather than active shooters as a whole. However, it appears these same traits can be found in some of active shooters who commit their crimes outside of a school setting. It should also be noted, active shooters who commit their crime because of an ideological purpose (i.e. Fort Hood attacks or the recent South Carolina church shooting) also may not necessarily display any of the above

Mass shootings have become a disturbing trend that is on the rise. They can happen in places like Sports stadiums, Clubs, Schools, shopping centers, movie theaters, and even concerts. A mass shooting can be committed by either an individual or an organization. In recent times terrorist groups have used the tactic of mass shootings to fulfill their political aim. A person who commits a mass shooting could be a terrorist or a random stranger. Ironically, some people can mistake a mass shooting to be a terrorist attack.

Not everyone can agree to the exact definition of a mass shooting, Not every shooter has the same motives, or executes their attack the exact same way as the shooter before him/her, but they all do have one thing in common, access to guns. Mass shootings are a vulgar, cowardly act, but they will not stop as long as people have access to assault weapons, or any weapons for that matter. Some people against gun control would compromise and ban only assault weapons, but it is not only assault weapons that are used for mass shootings, the list of firearms that have been used in mass shootings range from handguns, all the way up to high-powered rifles. The gunman of Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, killed 32 students and teachers, used only a 9mm pistol. Technology has advanced and people have become crazier since the writing of the first 10 Amendments, and although it’s only a few committing mass shootings, it would be safer to completely take guns out of the

There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. “Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists” (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment.

In the United States mass shootings have been a big topic of discussion. The main question is how can we as a nation help to prevent these tragedies from happening? Many people want the radical solution of banning guns in the United States all together. This can’t legally happen because of the Constitution which states in the Second Amendment that citizens have the right to bear arms. Where is the middle ground to this issue? How can the United States prevent mass shootings while making all citizens happy with the decision? The sad truth is that it is impossible to make everyone happy there will always be opposition no matter the question. There are ways to find a general consensus amongst the people where the majority of people agree with the decision and their rights are not infringed upon. This is not an easy task and will take a large amount of negotiation but, it can happen with enough will and perseverance. We are all one nation and nobody can predict where these tragedies might occur. So this means we have to come together and bring all ideas into consideration that do not take away any rights, but instead solve the issue all over the country.

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

There are many causes that have an effect on mass shootings and school shootings precisely. When the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred, investigators found several video games in the shooters home. Those games were the following: “Grand Theft Auto, Doom and Left 4 Dead”(Good 1). The craziest thing that investigators