Following a tragic school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 students and two teachers dead, the locals have banded together to call on Congress to pass effective gun control legislation. Dr. Roy Guerrero, a doctor from Uvalde who was present during the tragedy, recalled seeing two bodies “pulverized by bullets” before a hearing of the House Oversight Committee. He also bemoaned the resistance of adults to change when it comes to gun violence. Miah Cerrillo, a student who survived the shooting, appeared on camera to describe seeing her teacher shot right in front of her eyes. Lexi Rubio’s parents, Kimberly and Felix Rubio, who lost their 10-year-old daughter in the attack, choked back tears as they spoke about how their loved ones were affected by this unimaginable tragedy.
The awful events that took place in Uvalde are not unusual; during the past several years, there have been far too many mass shootings in America without any appreciable advancements in their prevention. In spite of this, it is obvious that something must be done in order to ensure that no other family or community ever experiences a loss of this magnitude. It is time for Congress to enact strong gun laws that will protect our neighborhoods from senseless acts of violence.
Implementing background checks for all gun transactions and prohibiting the civilian use of assault weapons are two potential solutions. The New England Journal of Medicine-reported research shows that background checks for all gun purchases cut gun-related homicides by almost half. Additionally, by prohibiting the use of military-style weapons in civilian settings, we can stop potential shooters from having access to weapons that might cause mass casualties in a matter of minutes. This kind of legislation has already been effectively put into place in nations like Australia, where tough gun control laws were put in place in the wake of a mass shooting that left 35 people dead and 23 injured in 1996.
The grief brought on by these tragedies and the loss of those who were taken too soon cannot be undone, but as lawmakers and people, it is our duty to guarantee that they never happen again by passing commonsense gun control laws quickly, before more lives are lost as a result of inaction or delays. The only way forward is via collective action; we owe it not just to ourselves but also to those impacted victims and their families in Uvalde and everywhere who deserve more than what weapons have inflicted upon them far too frequently.
