INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Josephine Quinn of Oxford University [1]
Nineteen more American school children have been sacrificed on the altar of the U.S
Constitution to the god of gun ownership rights, rekindling the incendiary debate between gun rights supporters and gun control advocates
Such acrimonious argumentation and harried handwringing regularly occurs after each mass school shooting in the U.S.; it is a political rite
in a culture where the right of gun ownership is sacrosanct, and gun owners tenaciously cling to their 2nd Amendment rights, even when it
results in the slaughter of young school children.On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old armed with an assault rifle entered Robb
shooting spree carried out by a gunman with a legally-acquired military-style weapon was merely the 119th in the U.S
mass school shootings,[3] these atrocities could be viewed as a post-modern form of child sacrifice.American ExceptionalismResearchers are
calling the epidemic of mass school shootings in the U.S
By definition, a mass shooting occurs when four or more people, not including the shooter, are killed.[4] With 288 school shooting incidents
having occurred from January 2009 to May 2018, the U.S
is a world leader given these grim and worrisome numbers, and an extreme statistical outlier as well, with the number two country, Mexico,
Given the number and frequency of school shootings in the U.S
has 57 times as many school shooting incidents as the combined total for rest of the world, where numerous nations from Argentina to the
United Kingdom have reported no such events.[6] On the average, some 3,200 American children each year, which is nine every day, are killed
Guns are the leading cause of death for American children and teens aged one to 19 years.[7]Based on statistics for the year 2019, the U.S
is also number two in the world for gun deaths and gun-related suicides
How does Japan, with a population of some 127 million, deal with gun control? In order to purchase a gun, a Japanese citizen must first
attend an all-day class and pass a written exam
Next, the individual must attain an accuracy rating of 95% on a shooting range test, and pass a mental evaluation performed at a hospital,
after which is a comprehensive background check by the government
Then, and only then is the person permitted to purchase a weapon, and then only rifles or shotguns, not military-style assault weapons
Japan, unlike the U.S., does not sacrifice its precious children to the god of gun ownership rights.The Great Political DivideOn one side,
the solutions presented by gun control advocates, mainly members of the Democratic Party, are straightforward and evidence-based: enact
stricter gun control measures that require background checks and waiting periods, increase the legal age for purchase from 18 to 21, and
civilians to own military-style weapons that are specifically designed for use in a combat zone and to inflict as much damage as possible on
president Bill Clinton had signed a bill banning the sale of AR-15 and similar semi-automatic assault weapons in 1994, resulting in a 43
percent drop in gun deaths, but George W
Bush allowed the ban to expire in 2004
The subsequent decade of 2004-14 showed an appalling 239 percent surge in deaths due to gun massacres, where six or more were killed.[9]On
the other hand, gun rights advocates, mostly members of the Republican Party, argue that restricting gun ownership is an encroachment upon
their right to own arms as guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the U.S
entryway, reinforced with additional security measures like metal detectors
assess correctly and respond quickly to a shooter in the classroom is simply unrealistic.[11]Regrettably, given the lack of political will
when it comes to implementing gun control, these mass shooting events can be expected to continue
Consequently, hospitals must have staff and facilities capable of treating the inevitable victims
Deeper ProblemWhile many place the blame for the current impasse over what to do about school shootings and prevent children from becoming
of the armed law-abiding citizen confronting an active shooter in self-defense indeed makes for a powerful marketing tool that is being
exploited by many security firms, however, there is little scientifically verifiable evidence to support the effectiveness of this concept,
so it appears to be more mythology than fact.[13]Moreover, the society at large seems to be moving towards acceptance of gun violence as a
money and means move into gated communities, where private security patrols provide a level of protection that is inaccessible to those of
Due to the vast income inequality between well-heeled Americans and most working poor, the U.S
is becoming more like a stereotypical third-world country, such as those that were derided by the previous occupant of the Oval Office, in
increases, the security for most children decreases, except for those fortunate enough to have been born into wealthy
families.[14]ConclusionThe repugnant practice of child sacrifice has persisted throughout the history of the world
Recent research has shown that the people of Carthage sacrificed their children to their chief god, Baal Hammon, and later to the goddess
substitute the children of their slaves for their own in the sickening sacrificial rites.[15]In an analogous fashion, U.S
gun ownership advocates act based on their belief that any encroachment upon their assumed constitutional right to own military-style
assault weapons represents a bona fide threat to their personal freedom
Hence, they will fight ruthlessly and irrationally against any and all such reasonable attempts by authorities to regulate or restrict these
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/at-least-19-children-1-teacher-killed-in-texas-elementary-school-shooting/2022/05.[3] James Densley and
https://theconversation.com/what-we-know-about-mass-school-shootings-in-the-us-and-the-gunmen-who-carry-them-out-183812.[4] Jillian
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/02/15/its-time-to-bring-back-the-assault-weapons-ban-gun-violence-experts-say/.[10] David A
accessed May 30, 2022, https://www.chop.edu/news/most-mass-shootings-occur-closest-hospitals-without-verification-treat-trauma.[13]
https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethmacbride/2018/11/25/americas-gun-business-is-28b-the-gun-violence-business-is-bigger/?sh=73fb39013ae8.
accessed May 30, 2022, https://muse.jhu.edu/article/405928.
