Gun Violence

Disclaimer; this is a very opinionated entry. If you disagree with my thoughts, you are more than free to disregard this and spend your time reading something else. If there's anything that's both terrifying and disheartening, it's the fact that mass shootings have become so commonplace in this country that there isn't even a sense of shock anymore. We've become so accustomed to this that there's just a cold numbness that washes over us when the news of the latest attack spreads. It's just so infuriating that after so many people are wiped from the face of the earth before their time, there are still so many people that are so bull headed that they would rather do nothing to stop future tragedies than admit that maybe, just maybe, the prevalence of guns in this country could be a huge part of the problem and do something about it. Whenever the matter comes up, there is always a good amount of dialogue on the issue but soon after, it just fizzles away because there are so many that are absolutely cemented in their views that no amount of death or violence will ever change their mind. Yes mental health is a big part of the problem, and those that are disturbed should absolutely receive intensive psychiatric care but if they couldn't get their hands on firearms in the first place, countless tragedies could have been avoided. People say that many are using these tragedies to "advance a political agenda." And what might that political agenda be? Taking action to prevent future attacks? Making the world safer? Making it harder for psychopaths to get their hands on weapons? As far as I'm concerned, those shouldn't be controversial "agendas", they should be bipartisan common goals. There is a growing community in America. It's the community of people whose lives have been shattered by mass shootings.Yes the communities of the victims need love and support to get them through these horrible tragedies, but thoughts and prayers just aren't enough. Action needs to be taken to prevent more from joining the community of victims. Many might disagree with me but truth be told, I simply don't care at this point. The amount of firearms circulating through the market and their wide availability is the keystone of the problem and I think that the world would be better off if the number of weapons in circulation was reduced. Gun violence is an issue that, in my opinion, shouldn't be controversial. It should be the goal of everyone on both sides of the aisle to do anything and everything to prevent future attacks from happening. Whenever a mass shooting occurs, there is so much more pain than the initial loss of life. There are countless people who have lost so much more than we can ever hope to understand. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends. For anyone who has experienced loss, they know that you can only heal to an extent. There are invisible scars left that the families of the victims will never recover from. Providing all the love and support that we can for these communities will help ease the pain but we owe them so much more than that. We owe them and the world concrete steps to be taken to prevent anymore death and destruction. We owe them action. We owe them a plan.