This past Tuesday, there was a deadly shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. 19 children and two teachers were murdered. By far the deadliest school shooting in Texas history, the shooting has contributed to discourse on gun control. A discourse that seems to have been going on over the past few decades.
Writers Jack Healy and Natalie Kitroeff, in their 2022 article for the New York Times, “Debate Over Guns Unfold in Uvalde, a Rural Texas Town in Grief”, writes, “Uvalde, a largely Mexican American city of 15,200 near the U.S. southern border, is a far different place from Parkland, Fla., or Newtown, Conn., which became centers of grass-roots gun control activism in the aftermath of the school shootings there…. Gun ownership is threaded into life here in a county that has elected conservative Democrats and twice supported former President Donald J. Trump. Several relatives of victims count themselves among Texas’ more than one-million-gun owners. Some grew up hunting and shooting. Others say they own multiple guns for protection…”
In a place where gun ownership is so popular, one would imagine a tragedy as deadly as this one will forever change those perceptions. Especially considering a widespread debate at the dawn of the mid-term elections.
Another point of contention is the course of action that will take place following the tragedy. The common trajectory following a mass shooting is widespread coverage for weeks after, investigations looking into what went wrong and how did this happen, followed by widespread thoughts and prayers and then, nothing. Back to reality. However, that may not be the case this time.
Ricardo Lopez, in his 2022 article for Minnesota Reformer, “After Uvalde, Texas shooting, Renewed Calls for Gun Control Legislation in Minnesota”, writes, “the Uvalde mass shooting is spurring calls from Democrats and others who want Congress to act, as well… ‘within a few hours after this attack, we saw calls for the same failed gun-control measures from the past along with many fundraising emails from gun control groups across the country, and here in Minnesota, seeking to capitalize on our nation’s strong emotions,’ said Bryan Strawser, executive director of the Gun Owners Caucus. “This is shameful and exploitative.”
By far the most pertinent comment came from Richfield board member and former teacher Paula Cole. “‘We can’t become numb to these issues,’” Cole said, sharing how she always kept a key to her classroom door on a necklace in case of an active shooter event at school. Students and teachers, she said, practice huddling and hiding in a locked classroom for safety.”
Gun control had already been a widespread conversation in the United States already. The frequency of mass shootings whether at a church, grocery store, or school has become too much to be seen as isolated incidents. The American people are pleading and demanding for more than just thoughts and prayers.
Action and policy must be made.
