By Emmy Benton, Editor-in-Chief
Chesapeake, Virginia, is the latest community to go through the trauma of senseless violence. A Walmart employee opened fire on the night of Nov. 22, killing six people before taking his own life.
This latest mass shooting hits even closer to home for us. Being just one hour away, many of us take trips to Chesapeake – I was there a mere two weeks ago. My family and other people I know regularly go to the shopping center where the shooting took place.
The feeling that something like this could have happened while I was there triggers many emotions: fear, sadness and anger are the first ones that come to mind. I can’t imagine what the victims’ families are going through, especially so close to Thanksgiving.
As tough as it is, we have to realize that something like this can happen anywhere. No one is immune to the American epidemic that is gun violence.
According to the Washington Post, there hasn’t been a single week in 2022 with fewer than four mass shootings. They define mass shootings as shootings where “four or more people, not including the shooter, are injured or killed.”
The fact that shootings have become such common events is disheartening and tragic. Across the country, communities that never imagined gun violence would reach them are having to go through unimaginable grief as they struggle with the aftermath.
There’s not enough time to process one mass shooting before the next one occurs. It’s like a never-ending cycle that we can’t seem to claw our way out of.
On Nov. 13, a student at the University of Virginia opened fire after a class field trip and killed three UVA football players.
On Nov. 19, a shooter opened fire in an LGBTQ club in Colorado, killing five community members.
Then Chesapeake.
Over 600 shootings have occurred this year, yet action that will truly change the number in the ensuing years has not been taken.
We need to demand action from politicians that respects the Second Amendment rights of our citizens while implementing common-sense safeguards that make it harder to purchase firearms before more innocent lives are lost.
Virginia’s gun laws were tightened in 2020 and 2021, leading to universal background checks, a limit of being able to purchase one handgun per month, and “red flag” laws that allow guns to be seized from people who are threats to themselves or others.
According to police, the shooter in the Chesapeake massacre was in possession of one handgun and “several magazines” of ammunition. Currently, Virginia has no laws limiting large capacity ammunition magazines or requiring a license for the purchasing and possession of ammunition.
Authorities said the handgun was bought by the suspect the morning of the attack at a local store. He had no criminal history, meaning his background check came back clean and he was able to purchase the weapon legally – but it shouldn’t be this easy.
What if there had been a waiting period in place between the shooter’s application and the time he received the gun? Maybe the shooting would have happened only a few days later, but the “cooling-off” period also might have helped him realize that this senseless act of violence wouldn’t solve anything.
In North Carolina, individuals are required to obtain a permit and go through a criminal background check before being able to purchase a handgun, but do not have to register any of their firearms. Background checks aren’t required for long guns, such as assault rifles, and there are no such “red flag” laws that prevent guns from being in the hands of those deemed most likely to carry out an attack.
Nationally, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed in June of this year and includes $750 million for state crisis intervention programs. The bill, passed in the aftermath of the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting that killed 21, put forth a plan for improving access to mental health services for individuals in crisis and requires states to review juvenile and mental health records for those under 21 years of age who want to purchase a gun.
With Republicans controlling the House of Representatives and Democrats controlling the Senate as a result of the midterm elections, Congress will be in gridlock. Many Americans, including myself, aren’t very confident that more bipartisan legislation regarding gun control will be passed any time soon.
But this shouldn’t be a partisan issue. We should all agree that sensible gun laws, more in-depth background checks, “red flag” laws, and mental health care are all necessary aspects of legislation that should be passed by the federal government and enacted across the country.
To put it plainly, current federal gun laws simply aren’t working. You never know when or where the next mass shooting will occur, leaving people in a constant state of fear that they cannot escape. What if the next mass shooting hits even closer to home than Chesapeake?
This is the America we will continue to live in unless action is taken. People’s lives are on the line and it is more important than ever for Americans – and politicians – to come to an agreement on gun laws.
For everyone’s sake.
Senior Emmy Benton can be reached at 23bentonem58@daretolearn.org.
