EDITORIAL: Gun violence issue returns to foreground

In the past four years or so, the issue of gun control has been a number one priority for many young activists. Students across the country have demanded a change and new legislation limiting the easy access of firearms in order to create safer environments for all Americans largely after 17 students were killed in Parkland, Florida. Over the past year during the pandemic, schools have closed, office spaces have been working from home, and many are limiting their exposure to large groups of people. The most common places for mass shootings to occur are no longer open or available. In the midst of social distancing and limited social gatherings, the amount of mass shootings in America has decreased, but numbers still remained alarming. The pandemic exposed a pattern of gun violence in this country that could have been easily avoided if gun control was implemented when activists first took a stand against the issue of gun violence. 

While one in three Americans have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine, many students, workers, and everyday Americans have returned to a somewhat “normal” life. In March and April of 2021 alone, there have been 95 mass shootings that left more than one dead or injured according to the Gun Violence Archive. This is our “normal” in America. This is what we are used to. 

The rising number of mass shootings in recent months should serve as a reminder that gun violence is also an epidemic. We may not be seeing it as much as we did when there was a shooting in a school or office space every other week, but gun violence is still prominent and numbers are surging. The people who have the most power in this country, politicians as well as large corporations, have an obligation to be aware of the changes and hardships that Americans have faced over the last year. They also have an obligation to keep their constituents safe and end gun violence before it’s too late.