Shootings have increased drastically since the 2010s. Chicago has suffered from this violence, multiple shootings and gun fights have occurred, dozens of deaths and injuries, but how? The answer: power. In an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered, a grandfather explained how he felt when he got a call that his grandson had died from gun violence in Chicago (Illinois Congressman: Poverty Plays A Large Role In Chicago Gun Violence).
What’s crazy is that this whole fight that his grandson got into was over nothing but some borrowed clothes that were not given back. Guns are powerful weapons, arguably the most dangerous due to being easy to obtain and use. This is a very real situation that could happen to you. Gun violence is not a joke, but some people still believe it’s not that bad; it really is. Chicago definitely isn’t the only place affected by these tragedies. According to NPPR, “The national debate over gun control is heating up once again following last week’s rampage in California that left six students dead.” (“Already Tough On Gun Control, Massachusetts Aims To Get Tougher”). This is just one of the horrible tragedies gun violence has caused. How much more has already happened since then? This is the brutal truth.
We can’t just set this issue aside. Some would argue that there are bigger problems in the world, but if we set this aside, think about how many people will keep dying. Gun violence will continue growing. NPR reports, “We’ve found even psychiatrists were feeling that they couldn’t predict the dangerousness of these individuals.” One of the biggest problems of gun violence is its unpredictability. If somebody has a gun, they can use it anytime, anywhere.
Researcher Allison Jordan argues, “Even when hate-motivated offenders do not fire guns, they consistently use them to threaten, intimidate, and humiliate their victims.” Even without shooting, guns are too often used to threaten and scare people who are at their mercy. Guns are definitely a problem that need to be solved, so here are some solutions.
Passing laws to reduce gun violence is one solution. Jordan says, “Current hate crime laws often fail to prevent bias-fueled tragedies before they occur. The Disarm Hate Act would address this shortcoming by proactively preventing individuals with prior violent hate crime misdemeanors from legally accessing firearms.”
If passed, the Disarm Hate Act would make it more difficult to obtain guns if you have a criminal history. Passing this law would make sure that people who have committed gun violence won’t be able to do it again. It doesn’t solve the problem, but it’s a strong step toward reducing gun violence.
Although laws are a good way to slow gun violence, we need more in order to get rid of it completely. One of the ways to do this is collecting personal guns, to make sure these shootings don’t happen. The Chicago Police Department collected over 9,000 personal guns in 2022, which is a good step toward getting rid of gun violence in Chicago (“The Debate in Chicago over Illegal Guns and Violence”). A world without guns is a more peaceful world, and maybe it could happen here.
This problem may seem unsolvable, but it’s actually right in our hands. People will keep dying unless we do something. Chicago could be known as the peaceful city, instead of a high-crime place as some already see it. Remember, a stolen TV or a pair of shoes is nowhere near the value of a human life. Don’t use the gun.
Works cited:
“Already Tough On Gun Control, Massachusetts Aims To Get Tougher.” All Things Considered, May 28, 2014.
“Illinois Congressman: Poverty Plays a Large Role in Chicago Gun Violence.” Weekend All Things Considered, Jan. 7, 2017.
Jordan, Allison. “Disarm Hate: A Summary of Key Challenges and Solutions.” Center for American Progress, 2023.
“The Debate in Chicago over Illegal Guns and Violence,” Nov. 1, 2022.
Judah Strietzel is a student at OPRF High School.