The How is More Important Than The Why

There have been twenty-seven school shootings so far this year. That's not a typo. According to NPR, there have been twenty-seven school shootings. We will end 2022 with almost sixty-five school shootings if this keeps up. 

If that does not make your jaw drop, guns surpassed car accidents as the Number 1 cause of death in children in 2020. This information came in a research letter in the New England Journal of Medicine. That number increased thirty percent between 2019 and 2020. 

Finally, if that statistic does not stagger you, consider this: at least thirty-seven children have been killed in school shootings so far in 2022. Thus far, in 2022, twenty police officers have been shot and killed in the line of duty. Right now, in the United States of America, our children, legally compelled to attend school, are not safe. (Sources: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/school-shootings-this-year-how-many-and-where/2022/01; https://www.odmp.org/search/year?year=2022)

According to Vox, the U.S. not only has more guns than other countries; but we also have more gun violence. 

In the wake of this most recent shooting, we have heard calls for more focus on mental health. We can do that. We can put more resources toward mental health supports to identify and reduce isolation. That is perfectly reasonable. As long as those mental health dollars are there for those services. In the days after this tragedy, Governor Greg Abbott asserted that Texas needed to "do a better job with mental health." That is the same Governor Abbott who, in April, withdrew $211 million from the department's budget that oversees mental health, according to NBC news. 

We have also heard leaders ask to further harden schools and arm teachers. Perhaps we can consider the former. The latter suggestion is utter nonsense. 

The individual in Uvalde, Texas, who committed this unspeakable crime, was armed with two AR-15 rifles and more than 1000 rounds of ammunition. For context, according to CBS, a United States soldier would take 210 rounds into combat. 

We have too many assault-style guns available in the United States. Period. Individuals who cannot legally drink, buy Sudafed, or rent a car can access weapons designed to do one thing and one thing only: kill people quickly. And sadly, they are doing just that. 

Other countries have shown us that changes can be made. Both Scotland and New Zealand responded swiftly to senseless school shootings with legislation. Neither country has seen a repeat of that day since. 

If these weapons were not as easily accessible as they are, we would not be having this problem. That is a fact supported by the data above. We can talk all we want about better mental health services. But until we do something about the ease of putting deadly weapons in the hands of people who are not trained to use them, who intend to simply kill others, we will continue to allow our children to die for their right to bear arms. 

The how is more important than the why.