There have been incidents of bombings and mass shootings throughout my life – and long before that throughout American history. But I think something is happening in recent years to make them more frequent and more violent. To me the turning point was the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. It was a shock to the country that an American citizen could hate his government so much to kill so many innocent people. But then it seemed like more and more of these incidents were occurring. Some were terrorists with a political agenda – including those inspired by radical Islam. And some were mentally disturbed people who just wanted to kill others. It’s been happening far too frequently and seems to be accelerating out of control. I grew up in an urban environment where I was safe walking and traveling even alone as a child. I feel that we have a right to be safe – and if the government does nothing else it should be to assure the safety of its citizens. What happened to the “inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”? Following are just some of the examples of domestic terrorism and mass shootings in the US since 1995. Looking at it collectively, it’s horrific – almost 500 killed and hundreds more injured. And this is not a complete list.
And then there was the shooting rampage in 2019. On August 3, 2019 there were two unconnected mass shootings that killed 31 and another 40 wounded. One massacre occurred at a Walmart store in El Paso, TX. The other was at an entertainment district in Dayton, Ohio. And these followed only one week after a gunman killed 3 people and wounded 13 others in a shooting at a festival in Gilroy, Calif. What is going on – and when will this country decide that “enough is enough”?
Most of these incidents involved semi-automatic rifles and pistols and some bombs. I have strong feelings against gun violence, but I recognize the right for people to have firearms – for hunting, target shooting, and self-protection (after all there really are some bad people out there). But why is it so easy for people to obtain and accumulate deadly weapons – especially criminals and mentally disturbed people? And what is the practical and “constitutionally protected” use of semiautomatic and automatic attack weapons – whose only purpose is to kill people?
I recognize that terrorism and mass shootings are not isolated to the United States. They are occurring with increasing frequency worldwide – in some cases even more horrific. But I have a choice to not travel to regions and countries that are at high risk – and I don’t. I would like to feel safe in my own country – and I worry about the safety of my children and grandchildren in the future.
All Rights Reserved © 2018/2019 Henry P. Mitchell