Gun violence is a growing issue that needs to be dealt with in America. Due to many reasons, guns become more accessible to those who may misuse them and cause harm. There are so many mass shootings that it surpassed the number of days in 2023. As of December 4th, 2023, there were 627 mass shootings in America. There are 365 days in a year and 627 is close to the number of days in 2 years total, making the fact it’s dreadful to see that many mass shootings occur. Per definition, a mass shooting is a shooting in which 4 or more people are injured or killed. Many lives were lost in the year of 2023. At the end of the year, about 40,000 lives were lost due to gun violence. In 2024, as of March 25th, which is 85 days into the year, there have been 83 mass shootings which are just like the last year where the amount of mass shootings catches or exceeds the number of days. It’s quite disturbing that there are so many mass shootings. It demonstrates that people cannot use guns properly and get access to it so easily which poses a threat. To demonstrate the stretch, it became so accessible to obtain an object that can put an end to someone’s life so easily. It’s horrifying too since so many people have lives and it can just be ended like that. Losing someone to gun violence or losing someone in general is quite depressing. It can cause a lot of emotions for a person. For example, a man named Craig Reynolds explained “Hardly a day goes by where I don’t think about Steve’s tragic death, the trauma endured by his siblings, parents, and family, and the guilt felt by Danny.” Losing someone to gun violence can affect so many people’s emotions. It’s not something everyone should go through and action must be taken so that gun violence doesn’t take the amounts of lives it does. A lot of people also argue that they need guns in terms of self-defense. This is personally not the best option since there are other safer, non-lethal options. 

Many people are not in the mental state to possess a firearm. Some mental health issues that cause thoughts that could harm someone or themselves are PTSD, depression, and bipolar disorder. Some use firearms with the intent to harm someone or harm themselves. The year 2023 saw about 22,506 deaths by gun suicide making an average of 66 suicides by gun per day. 2024 so far, has about 3k deaths per gun suicide. This is appalling news because these are human lives that are being ended off of one’s mental struggle. Things need to be changed so that people can seek help rather than take their lives. People might not get help for their mental health issues mainly because some of them don’t know they have issues and make their lifestyle the new normal. Additionally, the reason may be they can’t accept the fact that they are struggling with mental health issues. They could be in denial and just try to self-diagnose themselves with an answer they want to hear. This is human nature. People and even me in the world like to get a fixed answer because it’s the answer they want to hear.  For this reason, you wouldn’t want to be labeled or thought of as something you deep inside feel like you’re not.

Solutions need to be brought up because if not numbers will go up and there will be a trend of gun violence deaths. A great solution that’s been brought states that “Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Extreme Risk Protection Orders include mechanisms to temporarily remove firearms from individuals at risk for suicide or violence against others. Research shows that the stronger the DVPO protections, the clearer the life-saving benefits.” This is a great direction to lowering the suicide rate and keeping gun violence deaths at a low. It can be crucial to get that check because your mental health can be so important and putting it at risk can put others at risk. 

Works Cited

Alfonseca, Kiara. “More than 40,000 people killed in gun violence so far in 2023.” ABC, 27 Dec. 2023, abcnews.go.com/US/116-people-died-gun-violence-day-us-year/story?id=97382759. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

Alfonseca, Kiara. “There have been more mass shootings than days in 2023, database shows.” ABC, 4 Dec. 2023, abcnews.go.com/US/mass-shootings-days-2023-database-shows/story?id=96609874. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

Alfonseca, Kiara. “There have been more mass shootings than days in 2023, database shows.” ABC, 4 Dec. 2023, abcnews.go.com/US/mass-shootings-days-2023-database-shows/story?id=96609874. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

Reynolds, Craig. “Craig Reynolds.” Alliance for Gun Responsibility, 7 Feb. 2023, gunresponsibility.org/story/17423/. 

“GUN VIOLENCE Solutions.” Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, JHU, publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-gun-violence-solutions/solutions. Accessed 27 Mar. 2024.

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