We’ve all seen the headlines. Mass shootings have become quite common events to see in the American media.

The number of mass shooting in the United States has been increasing. The United States went from 4 mass shootings in the year in 1993 to 12 as of November 24, 2022. In 2016 a massacre at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida killed 49 people and injured 53 . 2017’s “grand total” was 587 injured in mass shootings and 117 killed. Since the School shooting at Columbine High School in 1999, at least 2,000 people have been killed or injured in mass shootings.  

With this growing problem, we need a solution. A common thought among the world today is the idea of Left vs. Right, or Democrat vs. Republicans. With this thinking comes the idea of “if the other side agrees with it, I can’t.”

This idea needs to be eliminated. According to Chris Canipe and Travis Hartman, we are already on our way to coming together for a solution, “A majority of Americans in both parties have a desire for more gun control.”

The next step would be being open to multiple solutions working together. The solutions that would work the best would be eliminating gun free zones, loosening gun control, and making it easier for more people to carry guns in public.

First, a report from the Crime Prevention Research Center found that between 1950 and 2016, 98.4 percent of mass shooting were in gun free zones. It seems gun-free zones are not helping protect people from mass shootings and are targets for shooters.

This leads to looser gun laws and more people carrying guns. Our Second Amendment Right is the right to bear arms. When gun laws are made, they need to tread lightly, and guns cannot be completely banned. The gun laws put into place already are strict enough, enforcing more would take away law abiding citizens’ guns. Also, experts “estimate that roughly 50% of guns used in crimes are stolen from law-abiding citizens or otherwise illegally obtained”. This proves that making it harder to obtain guns would not stop shooters and completely banning guns is unconstitutional.

So how do we stop shooters? The answer is having more law-abiding citizens with guns in public. Think about it this way, how many times have you heard of someone going in and shooting up a police station? Chances are you have not ever heard of that happening. If our public places, including schools, were like police stations where a decent number of people knew what they were doing with a gun it would likely keep that area from being a target. The idea behind this is that either a citizen could stop the shooter, or a shooter just would not go through with what they’re want to do because the fear of being stopped. 

In conclusion, mass shootings are a growing problem that we need to find a solution to fast. How many more innocent people will be killed so that someone can receive instant gratification?