Last Tuesday, Oct. 1, marked two years since the deadliest shooting recorded in United States history. On Oct. 1, 2017, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire during a country music festival at the Las Vegas Strip hotel, killing fifty-eight and wounding many others. It is estimated that a pool of approximately 22,000 spectators were present at the concert at the time.
Paddock opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Hotel’s 32nd floor, where Paddock had made a room reservation in order to commit the atrocity. The tragedy left fifty-eight dead and over another four hundred wounded by gunfire.
Following the incident, the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, although no further evidence was provided. At the time, it was also reported that Paddock had joined the terrorist group six months prior to the attack.
Data retrieved by nonprofit Gun Violence Archive (GVA) shows that, alone this year, as of Sept. 1 (244th day of the year), a total of 283 mass shootings had been recorded.
Just a few days ago, on Oct. 3, MGM Resorts International agreed to pay Las Vegas shooting victims up to $800 million as they have come to a settlement just over two years after the tragedy. However, while it brings families and victims closer to justice, there is still much work to be done by the Trump administration.
On Saturday, Aug. 3, a gunman shot 22 people dead at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, after having driven for almost six hours to commit such crime. That same night, a second shooting took place in Dayton, Ohio, leaving another seven dead.
Most recently, in late September, it was reported that Trump had allegedly talked to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern regarding New Zealand’s gun buyback plan. On March 15 of this year, New Zealand suffered a mass shooting at the Christchurch mosque, located in the city of Christchurch. Immediately after, the Kiwi nation initiated such gun buyback in an effort to get bullets off the streets.
Further, in my home-country, Spain, right-wing political party Vox suggested passing a law that would allow civilians to have guns readily available. Of course, the proposal did not go any further as it generated frustration and anger among Spaniards.
For Dr. Jaclyn Schildkraut, an sssociate professor at Oswego State’s department of Criminal Justice, the ongoing situational has a personal impact. Schildkraut is from two communities that had mass shootings, as she grew up in the Parkland area and went to college for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Orland, Florida, which is where the Pulse Nightclub shooting happened in 2016.
Under the Constitution, the Second Amendment was intended for a time in which the newly-formed United States of America had to protect themselves from possible attacks perpetrated by British Colonists.
While the amendment has been present in our Constitution ever since, it is getting to a point where one must be vigilant of his or her surroundings at all times.
Maybe the United States government should start rolling out such gun buyback in hopes of reducing gunfire and mass shootings in the streets.
Photo from Bernard Spragg. NZ via Flickr
