By: Johnny Vu
As of October 17, 2019, 361 mass shootings have occurred in the United States this year. That averages to 1.24 mass shootings per day. In 2018, there were 323 mass shootings and in 2017, 345.
This data shows that the number of shootings has not gone down in recent years. It’s a no-brainer that the topic of gun control has become an ongoing heated discussion.
Pro-gun organizations, such as the NRA, have largely opposed gun control, their response is that banning guns will not help prevent future attacks.
“The surest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Said Wayne LaPierre, the Chief Executive and Vice President of the Nra, at Liberty University.
Their goal is to strengthen their Second Amendment freedom to defend themselves, their families, and communities.
With every mass shooting, those who oppose gun control look for other alternatives such as bullet-proof backpacks.
The article from CNN, titled Sales of bulletproof backpacks surged 200% to 300% in the wake of last week's mass shootings, companies say, interviews bullet-proof backpack making on their sales. The article was published on August 8, five days after the El Paso shooting and four days before the Dayton shooting.
Steve Naremore, the CEO of TuffyPacks, said their sales rose nearly 300% over that past week. “We always see spikes in sales in the days or weeks after shootings,” he said.
The founder of Bullet Blocker, Joe Curran, said that their sales had increased by 200%, after the mass shootings that week.
Those in support for gun control such as the Sandy Hook Promise organization dedicate their efforts to spread awareness of gun violence. Their Know the Signs programs teach the youth and adults on how to detect at-risk behaviors to prevent any future harmful acts.
The Sandy Hook organization in particular releases PSAs every year illustrating that gun violence is preventable when you know the signs. In 2016, they released a video titled “Evan” which was viewed over a million times. In 2018, their “Point of View” video was nominated for an Emmy.
In 2019, they released a PSA titled “Back-to-School Essentials.” The video showcases several students showing off their new school supplies. The tone then gets darker as there is a school shooting taking place. The new school supplies are then used to help them during the school shooting instead of its intended purpose.
Many people are in support for this ad as well as opposed to it. Those in support praise this ad for being upfront and raw about gun violence. Those opposed to it are concerned that the ad will just generate more fear among parents and students that see it.
Nerissa Gerodias, a math teacher at Yerba Buena High School, was asked what were her thoughts on the video. Upon viewing it she thought the video was a sarcastic way of conveying a message. To some extent she thought it was a creative way of conveying the message, but would rather have the video be in a more mature manner and not involve students.
“In the beginning, it felt like something light, not serious.” Gerodias said.
Though she thought the whole video was lacking in maturity, she did like the ending of it.
“I think at the end it got serious. I like the end where she said I can stay in touch with my mom. I thought that was powerful.”
While there will always be disputes between both sides of the gun control debate, PSAs like this helps bring awareness to the whole issue. There doesn’t need to be another mass shooting to spark change. Eventually there will be enough awareness for this debate to come to a final conclusion.
As of October 17, 2019, 361 mass shootings have occurred in the United States this year. That averages to 1.24 mass shootings per day. In 2018, there were 323 mass shootings and in 2017, 345.
This data shows that the number of shootings has not gone down in recent years. It’s a no-brainer that the topic of gun control has become an ongoing heated discussion.
Pro-gun organizations, such as the NRA, have largely opposed gun control, their response is that banning guns will not help prevent future attacks.
“The surest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Said Wayne LaPierre, the Chief Executive and Vice President of the Nra, at Liberty University.
Their goal is to strengthen their Second Amendment freedom to defend themselves, their families, and communities.
With every mass shooting, those who oppose gun control look for other alternatives such as bullet-proof backpacks.
The article from CNN, titled Sales of bulletproof backpacks surged 200% to 300% in the wake of last week's mass shootings, companies say, interviews bullet-proof backpack making on their sales. The article was published on August 8, five days after the El Paso shooting and four days before the Dayton shooting.
Steve Naremore, the CEO of TuffyPacks, said their sales rose nearly 300% over that past week. “We always see spikes in sales in the days or weeks after shootings,” he said.
The founder of Bullet Blocker, Joe Curran, said that their sales had increased by 200%, after the mass shootings that week.
Those in support for gun control such as the Sandy Hook Promise organization dedicate their efforts to spread awareness of gun violence. Their Know the Signs programs teach the youth and adults on how to detect at-risk behaviors to prevent any future harmful acts.
The Sandy Hook organization in particular releases PSAs every year illustrating that gun violence is preventable when you know the signs. In 2016, they released a video titled “Evan” which was viewed over a million times. In 2018, their “Point of View” video was nominated for an Emmy.
In 2019, they released a PSA titled “Back-to-School Essentials.” The video showcases several students showing off their new school supplies. The tone then gets darker as there is a school shooting taking place. The new school supplies are then used to help them during the school shooting instead of its intended purpose.
Many people are in support for this ad as well as opposed to it. Those in support praise this ad for being upfront and raw about gun violence. Those opposed to it are concerned that the ad will just generate more fear among parents and students that see it.
Nerissa Gerodias, a math teacher at Yerba Buena High School, was asked what were her thoughts on the video. Upon viewing it she thought the video was a sarcastic way of conveying a message. To some extent she thought it was a creative way of conveying the message, but would rather have the video be in a more mature manner and not involve students.
“In the beginning, it felt like something light, not serious.” Gerodias said.
Though she thought the whole video was lacking in maturity, she did like the ending of it.
“I think at the end it got serious. I like the end where she said I can stay in touch with my mom. I thought that was powerful.”
While there will always be disputes between both sides of the gun control debate, PSAs like this helps bring awareness to the whole issue. There doesn’t need to be another mass shooting to spark change. Eventually there will be enough awareness for this debate to come to a final conclusion.