Within this past year, America has made sure to maintain its tradition of being known for its mass shootings and lunatic gun holders.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a total of 314 mass shooting incidents have occurred as of Nov 19 and it seems to have become some psychopathic trend.
However, in this time of crisis, we must realize that the leader of our nation is responsible for comforting and reassuring the American people while also reminding us that he or she is working on resolving this tragic issue.
Unfortunately for America, we are stuck with Donald Trump, who would rather tweet out aggressions about undocumented immigrants than focus on keeping the country safe.
The Texas church shooting in 2017 left 26 people dead and 20 injured, it has been deemed as the worst mass shooting that the state of Texas has experienced in recent history.
In an interview conducted by The Guardian, shortly after the Texas church shooting, Trump is heard giving his input on the recent deaths.
He says, “We have a lot of mental health problems in our country, as do other countries, but this isn’t a guns situation.
I found this comment to be strange because neither issues are being taken care of.
If mental health is such a huge factor, why aren’t we addressing that?
Are we using mental health as a way to determine whether or not someone is stable enough to own a gun?
Or are we going to continue to push the narrative that mental health is the only thing responsible for these massacres as opposed to lack of gun control being a factor as well?
Of course, 45 offered his condolences and suggested that “Americans always pull together […] when we are unified,” this statement offered little to no comfort for those who have lost their lives or loved ones to gun violence.
According to him our country is unified, but we’re actually very divided. Take for example the administration’s obsession with keeping immigrants out of the United States or his history of racist language.
We’re living in an era where our president would much rather focus on building a wall and separating innocent families instead of focusing on how to keep public places safe in order to avoid future mass shootings.
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton suggested American churches should begin to arm their staff or even hire security because he believes that “it’s going to happen again.”
That’s not the mindset that someone in power should have.
And we shouldn’t ever be normalizing the frequency of mass shootings.
I understand the need to remain prepared, but, when it comes to guns, wouldn’t it make more sense to create a concrete solution for the problem?
Trump continues to claim that tougher gun laws will only lead to more deaths.
Immediately after the Synagogue shooting in Pennsylvania late October, he suggested that had there of been an armed guard at the door, the guard would’ve been able to stop the gunman.
But in the case of the Synagogue shooting, and many others, had the gunman not of had access to a gun, there wouldn’t have been a need for armed security in the first place.
We need to strengthen our gun laws and reinforce who is and isn’t qualified to own a gun. If someone is deemed mentally unstable, their right to bear arms should be taken until it is clinically proven that they are healthy again.
Also, making sure that access to purchasing a gun isn’t as easy as it has been.
Background screenings, mental health evaluations and asking individuals to determine what it is that they need a gun for seems like a step in the right direction.
Just as America’s only decent former President, Barack Obama once said “this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do just unbelievable damage…this is becoming the norm. We should be ashamed.”
Jasmine Mouzon is a senior studying Africana studies.
