As the new year starts, we see the repeat of mass shootings across America, a theme that feels everlasting and slow to change. The horrifying events across the country this past year and going into this new year shows that gun violence and efforts for change have not progressed.
The constant talk of gun safety and control in America has been a debate for far too long. In other countries around the world, you do not see these kinds of acts taking place as much as you do here. In recent years, the amount of gun-related violence has risen to extreme heights and has put thousands of lives, especially children’s lives, in danger.
More than 150 children have been killed in 2023 from gun violence, along with more than 50 mass shootings as of this month. The children must be a priority in our society, and they are dying in the streets. Science.orgstated in 2020, firearm-related injuries surpassed motor vehicle crashes as the leading cause of death among children and adolescents ages 1 to 19.
Seven mass shootings have occurred in California since the beginning of 2023, leaving 31 people dead and dozens more injured.
Just last month in Monterey Park, a neighborhood east of downtown Los Angeles, a 72-year-old man opened fire, killing 11 people, and injuring nine others on Jan. 22 at a Lunar New Year celebration.
On Jan. 25, farmworker Chunli Zhao was accused of killing seven people in back-to-back shootings at two Northern California mushroom farms, and he was charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
Gun laws in America must be better. Families across the country have had their worst fears come to life every day. Unfortunately, there are people in the world who commit atrocities leaving victims in their wake.
It is disturbing to see the almost nonexistent changes made in gun control amid daily news of shootings. Something needs to be done soon so that people do not have to fear becoming the next victim of a shooting. There are enough other worries in the world.
The streets have always been dangerous, but there was a time when parents could trust that sending their children out to play all day was safe. The world is no longer safe. The dangers of guns are real, and the entire country knows. The time for gun control is now.
