Mass shootings have a ripple effect

On a crisp autumn morning in the USA, I woke up to the sound of the news playing softly in the background. Another mass shooting at a mall in Colorado, another at a school in Texas, and yet another at a music festival in Nevada. The stories blended together, a tragic montage of violence that seemed to surface every week, sometimes several times.

I remembered when I first heard politicians urging their constituents to go out now, buy the guns you want before they outlaw the sale of firearms. The NRA had a stranglehold on politicians, and the gun industry filled their pockets. It seemed everyone had a firearm — some for hunting, others for protection, and some simply because it was their right. Gun shops flourished, advertisements boasted the latest models, and shooting ranges became social hubs.

But with the growing number of firearms came a change in the community's atmosphere. People were wary, cautious around strangers, and the sound of distant gunfire was no longer surprising. Discussions about safety became more frequent, and drills for active shooter situations were incorporated into schools, offices, and public spaces.

This is now America, where there are more firearms than citizens. The rest of the world wonders in amazement at the travesty in our society. In 1994 legislation to control military style weapons was abandoned. Every one of those politicians needs to be remembered for what they did and not for what they could have done.

David Sidwell

Iowa City