Moderate Column

It’s time to change the way we respond to mass shootings

Casey Russell | Head Illustrator

If there's one thing to learn from the Las Vegas shooting, it's that something needs to change.

By Jefferson FennerHot fresh takes, brewed daily

The Monday attack in Las Vegas is the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history — a record that’s been broken several times this decade alone. If we want things to change, we need to stop politicizing this type of tragedy the way we always do.

News of the event reached the East Coast around 2 a.m. Monday. Most Americans heard the news by 9 a.m. By 1 p.m., Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called for Congress to “get off its ass” on gun reform.

I’m from Connecticut. My mother was born in Newtown in the village of Sandy Hook. My mother and my uncles went to Sandy Hook Elementary School. My grandmother taught there for 27 years. Dec. 14, 2012 was one of the saddest days I’ve ever seen.

But what was really upsetting was how quickly the tragedy became politicized. One day after the shooting, Congress left no time to grieve before the nation was pushed into a raging debate over gun control.

And again, this week, sides were drawn between political ideals. On one side, liberals argued guns should be regulated by decreasing the supply in the market. Murphy, one of the most prominent gun control advocates in Congress, shamed his colleagues on Twitter.



Former Vice President Joe Biden echoed similar remarks:

Meanwhile, conservatives argued that holistic gun control wasn’t the answer. They think there’s a set group of people, such as those with mental health issues, who should not be allowed to own guns. They also assert that if more good people carried guns, they could prevent crimes and acts of violence. Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin made the first response to the Democrats calling for gun control.

This tragedy is distressing, but it’s unlikely it will change anyone’s opinion on gun control. Vox has a page that consistently updates the number of mass shootings since Sandy Hook. Since that fateful December morning, the United States has experienced at least 1,518 mass shootings, according to the list. Mass shootings have become so common in American society that even when 20 children were slaughtered, our minds didn’t change.

Tragedy isn’t tragic anymore. Tragedy is a new angle to exploit, another chance to prove you’re right. We said we would change after Newtown. We said we would change after Orlando. We say we will change after Las Vegas. It’s time to change “we will” into “we have.”

Jefferson Fenner is a sophomore broadcast journalism major and political science minor. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at jfenner@syr.edu or on Twitter @jeffersonfenner.





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