Rising Gun Violence: An Emerging Epidemic in the United States

Gun violence has become the most uncurable menace in communities all across the United States.

With the tremendous rise in incidents involving gun violence, the call for legislation has also increased manifold.

This year, gun shootings have cut through funerals, workspaces, religious occasions, and shops, killing shopkeepers, passersby, and even children.

According to the recent report by Gun Violence Archive (GVA), this year, up to mid-2021, the number of casualties, injuries, along with an overall number of shootings, have exceeded the numbers of the first six months of 2020.

In the first six months only, more than 700 children have been killed or injured by gun crimes, along with more than 2000 women.

In every aspect, 2021 has proven to become the worst year for gun crimes in the history of the United States.

On the US Independence Day’s July 4th weekend this year, more than 230 people were shot down due to gun violence, which suggests a miserable state of affairs and a lawless situation that can bring further doldrums into the country.

As expected, again, a large number of victims have been communities of color, especially the African American community.

There is no doubt the number of killings of the colored communities is increasing tremendously.

In 2021, gun violence-related incidents nationwide have risen about 14% compared to the same period last year.

And according to the report of GVA, northeastern states have shown the most deadly incidents in the year, with Washington, New York, and Chicago on the top list of cities.



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Timothy Mshomi 1990–2013. RIP[/caption]

A Gun Violence Spike Has Alarmed the Country Dangerously

The data shows that gun violence cases are rising in cities since the start of the pandemic.

The violence has disproportionately affected the colored communities, claiming hundreds of lives, destroying families, and increasing the sense of insecurity in the cities.

In recent months, Washington has been hit with the most serious gun violence incidents. Within a few months, the city has observed two serious incidents, including the July 16th shooting, in which a six-year-old girl was killed.

On the following day, a few kilometers away from Congress Heights, gunfire erupted outside a baseball stadium during the game, resulting in three deaths.

In Chicago, a woman was killed and eight people wounded when two unidentified men opened fire on a group of people walking on the sidewalk in the Chatham neighborhood in the south of the city.

The matter is getting out of hand now, with more people dying on a daily basis in the US. The accessibility of guns has already cost me my son, as the lack of regulation has continued having devastating consequences upon Americans.

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Christopher Wray, the FBI director is also motivated to stop gun violence by mobilizing resources against the illegal occupation of guns.[/caption]

Gun Violence Reduction Should be Pursued Religiously to Stop the Suffering

Throughout American history, governments didn’t focus on the gun purchasing policy. Therefore, America has emerged as the country with the most armed citizens in the world.

The most effective way to control gun violence is to introduce new policies and strengthen the concerned authorities to control the smuggling of guns from other countries.

It could help the government to catch unknown shooters easily. Because currently, most of the guns that are being used for violent shootings aren’t registered, and finding the owners and the shooters become challenging after the incidents.

In recent years, the smuggling of illegal weapons into the United States has also skyrocketed and has become billions of dollars of illegal business, according to the research.

Moreover, the long periods of lockdown have also affected and depressed people mentally. As the situation is easing and offices and businesses are returning to normalcy, it is expected that the situation can be controlled, at least to some extent.

In July, the Biden Administration also announced new helpful policies and plans to reduce gun violence in the country.

The White House released a paper in which the government announced comprehensive strategies to fight and reduce gun violence in the country.

These strategies proposed preventative measures that are effective to reduce gun violence crimes, strike the root causes, and track the utilization of guns used in crimes.

The measure includes stemming the flow of firearms used to commit violence, holding scoundrel gun dealers accountable for violating federal laws and imposing new policies for them, investing in evidence-based community violence interventions, providing better opportunities and programs to support the teenagers, and adult population, and so on.

The new policy recommends stiffer actions against rogue firearm dealers. The committee recommended increasing the efficiency and providing resources to law enforcement agencies to crack down on dealers violating the laws.

The administration called on Congress to increase the funding for ATF to hire additional professionals to inspect and enforce actions against illegal dealers in a more effective way.

The FBI Director, Christopher Wray, has also announced plans to mobilize FBI agents to assist the enforcement agencies in targeting these entities.

The FBI will provide technology and manpower to support concerned law enforcement agencies to identify and punish the most violent criminals and dangerous gangs in cities.

The United States Marshals, in coordination with state and other federal agencies, are going to initiate operations in particular regions to sabotage criminal activities and their networks involved in the robbery, drug business, and gang wars.

These actions have been recommended by the experts and special committee members to establish a strategy to root out gun violence and other crimes through executive action and legislation.

Final Thoughts

Gun violence has infected the US as an epidemic, curbing the rights of citizens to a great extent.

The uncertainty of life has been increased manifold with the help of this misused weaponry. It is only a matter of time that if this issue remains unaddressed, it can choke the country.

Curbing the accessibility of guns was one of the utmost narratives on which President Biden built his campaign. Now it is the time to walk the talk, or it could be too late to bell the cat.

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