The persistent threat of gun violence
Nuccio DiNuzzo from Chicago Tribune from Tribune News Service
Members of the Chicago Police Department investigate the scene of a shooting on Feb. 18, 2017 in the 7300 block of South Aberdeen Street in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago, Ill. An off-duty Cook County correctional officer sustained a gun shot wound to the leg. The victim was transported to Christ Hospital in good condition.
March 13, 2017
Michael Brown. Laquan McDonald. And most notably, 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Those are just some of the most notable gun violence crimes that have taken place within the last 5 years.
And there have been many other victims of gun violence.
This is a very sensitive subject for most people, and some people are really trying to figure out what steps to take to prevent these senseless shootings.
“People need to be more educated about how to properly use a gun and the problem is that guns often end up in the wrong people’s hands,” Palatine High School police consultant Mr. Guimon says.
He also stressed the fact that there are too many crimes that go unconvicted and if the person does get convicted of committing a violent crime, the punishment is not long enough.
In terms of shootings happening in the Palatine area, it rarely happens.
“I’m not sure what the proper solution is for dealing with gun violence,” U.S. history teacher Brittany Berleman says.
She also explained that the process for people getting a gun is too easy and that should be more like when people try to get their driver’s license.
According to BBC.com, there were 372 mass shootings in the United States in 2015, including 64 school shootings. In all, 475 people were killed that year.
That’s just across the country. According to crime.chicagotribune.com, in the city of Chicago alone, there were 2,988 shooting victims in 2015.
This year, the number has doubled to 4,113 through December 4th.
“There are not enough common sense laws for people and the average everyday person should not have access to military style weapons,” social studies teacher Liza Sullivan says.
Sullivan also expressed that the main issue is that anyone can get a gun and that there should be more required background checks.
“Too many people get guns for the wrong reasons,” special education teacher Dan Collins said.
He also says that it’s very scary to know that so many people are walking around with a gun and he believes people access them too easily.
It’s very clear that gun violence is a very difficult subject to talk about and it’s very difficult to find solutions.
As a young African American man, I cannot describe how fearful I am for my life because I hear lots of sad stories about this topic.
But one day, I hope that people will help find a solution and not contribute to the ongoing problem of gun violence.
