Last night 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Chinese Lunar New Year event in Los Angeles.
I just have one question. How many people need to die before the US government considers their gun fetish to be less important than the safety of their citizens? What's the number on that? We've reached 1660 total people killed in mass shootings since 2009, not counting the most recent fatalities.*1 That apparently wasn't enough. So how many people need to lose their lives before they realise that gun control is not only a good idea but desperately needed?
I write this article from the relative safety of Scotland. On the 13th of March 1996, a gunman entered Dunblane Primary School and killed 16 children with four legally owned handguns. These were young children, their whole lives ahead of them. The United Kingdom's government immediately sprang into action (well, as quickly as these things go) and the Firearms Act was amended a year later in 1997. This banned all private ownership of catridge ammunition handguns.*2
Since this legislation was passed, there have been a grand total of two more incidents. One in 2010 in Cumbria, and in 2021 in Plymouth. Tragedies both, but mercifully rare. This legislation has ensured these shootings remain rare.
I'm not even going to try and understand why the United States government is so resistant to passing gun control legislation. At this point, where children are being sent to school with bulletproof backpacks and participating in active shooter drills, there really is no excuse. How are children supposed to learn when they're scared for their lives?
I don't care if the NRA is funding campaigns - which is morally reprehensible as it is. I don't care if they think people need guns for protection. I don't care if people think they have the right to own a deadly weapon. There are enough people abusing the freedom to own weapons to spoil it for responsible owners.
The only thing that will stop this is legislation. It is morally reprehensible at this point to prioritise gun ownership over lives. I won't be holding my breath though. I wish I could do something more than watch in horror. My thoughts are with the families of the dead and those injured. If there are any Americans reading this, I am so sorry. Please lobby your senators, and stay safe.
*2 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/5/contents
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