In years past, gun control has been a contentious issue at all levels of politics. Debates over gun control have been a key fixture in political campaigns for as long as I can remember. With recent events, gun control has made its way back into the forefront of national news. So far, there have been 108 mass shootings in the U.S. according to the Gun Violence Archive, with two of those happening in the last few weeks and the most recent of which happened last Monday in Colorado.
Last Monday, a shooting happened in Boulder, CO at a King Soopers Supermarket that claimed the lives of 10 people. The investigation is ongoing and is already being covered by major media outlets, so I will not be rehashing what they have to say for you. Instead, we need to talk about the National Rifle Association’s contribution to this mass shooting.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) struck down an ordinance put in place by the city of Boulder that banned assault weapons, which included the weapon used in the King Soopers shooting. This Boulder city ordinance was blocked only 10 days before the King Soopers shooting and allowed for the suspect to purchase a firearm that the city of Boulder deemed dangerous and illegal, killing 10 people with it. Once again, the National Rifle Association’s hands are dripping in the blood of mass shooting victims.
There are those that claim now is not the time to discuss such a heavy topic and that we should give people time to grieve, but when is the proper time to have this discussion? Should take place after this shooting is out of the news and when another mass shooting takes place? Is that the right time?
As former president Bill Clinton tweeted in 2019, “How many more people have to die before we reinstate the assault weapons ban & limit on high-capacity magazines & pass universal background checks?”
How many people need to die before this country takes this issue seriously? Is there not already enough blood on the hands of the NRA and the cowardly politicians that take their blood-stained checks?
Following the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania in 1996, the Australian government put into effect a ban on automatic and semiautomatic weapons. Since this ban went into effect, Australia has seen a massive decrease in the rates of mass shootings. This is the kind of action we need in the U.S. Instead of sending their thoughts and prayers, politicians need to stand up for the victims of mass shootings and actually put laws in place to prevent even more deaths.
