Twenty people have been killed due to a shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
The shooter is now dead after a brief chase, but it is unclear if the he was killed by police or took his own life. It has also not been determined if it was a domestic or international act of terrorism. A witness reported that they heard about 20 gun shots from a gas station across the street. Sutherland Springs is in Wilson County, about 30 miles east of San Antonio. A woman described the small town by saying, "there are two gas stations, a church, community center, post office, a Dollar General, a tire shop, and that's about it".
President Trump tweeted "May God be with the people of Sutherland Springs Texas". He is currently in Japan for his first trip to Asia as president.
How do you think the government to yet another horrific event? Will gun control laws become more strict? How many more events will happen before the government notices there needs to be a change?
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html
I can imagine there will be a push from senators wanting to tighten up gun control laws due to the attacks that are happening more frequently than they ever have. It will be interesting to see what more has to happen to get a reaction out of law makers.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to say just how many, if any amount of violent acts where guns are a factor, will change how the government reacts to gun policy. There are two sides of the argument, and a lot of civilians and policy makers believe that the actual amount of violent crime will not decrease. I.e. criminals will simply substitute their choice of weapon for what is legal.
ReplyDeleteBut what I do think, is that there are a lot of Americans that can identify with, and have a stronger sense of empathy for small towns like this, where crime isn't as prevalent in respect to the large cities.
Haley brought up a good point here. Even if the government tightens gun control laws there are other forms of weapons and bombs that can cause large numbers of deaths. Many are capable of building homemade bombs, as used in the Boston bombing.
DeleteThere have been too many horrific events for the government not to at least start talking about gun control regulations. With the viewpoints of the parties being so opposite, it seems like the parties will have to meet somewhere in the middle to make any sort of regulation. For example, not totally restricting guns, but making automatic firearms illegal. Hopefully no more tragedies will have to occur for change to happen.
ReplyDeleteYou would think so, but Australia banned all guns after one huge mass shooting - if stricter gun control hasn't happened yet on a national level, it's not going to now. Hopeful on the state level, especially given Chris Hurst's win on a strongly pro-gun control campaign last night in the Virginia House of Delegates.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of us can agree that some changes need to be made to the policies regarding firearms. I going to try not to rant because I feel very strongly on this subject (and agree with the need for reform). So I am going to speculate on the economic implications on the gun market. I am not sure it will change as a whole, but I am sure the some regions of the U.S after both the Vegas and Texas have seen a large drop in gun sales. Where as other regions have seen a boom by people that see the need to by guns to protect themselves. What i think is happening is the areas with these booms are where the mass shooting occur.
ReplyDeleteEven if there is increased gun control I am sure a "black market" will form from the guns that are already currently privately owned. I assume prices will be much higher due to the limited supply and people that want guns will still be able to get them. There are many other things that are currently illegal however we still see presence of these illegal things all around us. The only thing increased gun control would do is keep guns out of the hands of responsible American's and undermine the jobs of thousands that work in the gun industry in the United States adding to the current unemployment.
ReplyDeleteAlthough some are wanting stricter gun control laws, it would be difficult to enforce. Aaron brought up a good point of how it could create a possible "black market". The government can only do so much to keep things like illegal drugs out of the US. There's always a way for people to get ahold of things, whether they are legal or not. And thus by creating laws against individuals owning guns it could make it a similar situation. People would still be willing to pay any amount for a gun and would still be capable of getting them.
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