Scenes of agony and horror all too familiar
—in ’merica.
Ten mass shootings a week.

Firearm injuries:
leading cause of death among people
< 24 in the United States.

2015 through 2020: at least 2,070 unintentional shootings
by children under 18 in the US:
765 deaths and 1,366 injuries.

Firearm deaths over the past three decades—
a total of more than 1 million lives lost since 1990.

A burden unequal.
Homicide rate among young Black men:
142 homicide deaths for every 100,000 Black men ages 20 to 24—
10 times higher than the overall rate.

There are about 393 million privately owned firearms in the US:
120 guns for every 100 Americans.
—No other nation has more civilian guns than people.

mass shooting —
at least four people are shot,
excluding the ƒ⋂Ͻkᴉɳ⅁ shooter.

Remember, we’re alone.
It does not have to be this way.
Laws to curb gun deaths in other countries achieved significant results.

Australia.
Less than two weeks after Australia’s worst mass shooting,
the federal government banned rapid-fire rifles/shotguns, and unified gun licensing/registration.
Gun deaths in Australia fell by more than 50%.

The government’s 1997 buyback program—
led to an average drop in firearm suicide rates of 74%.

South Africa.
Gun-related deaths almost halved over a 10-year-period after
the Firearms Control Act of 2000.
Much more difficult to obtain a firearm.

Britain.
Tightened its gun laws and banned most private handgun ownership
after a mass shooting in 1996, a move that saw
gun deaths drop by almost a quarter over a decade.

But America’s gun culture is a global outlier.
For now, and for how long,
must the deadly cycle of violence continue?

: What about all the gunless cold, dead hands?

* Versification | “Three weeks and 39 mass shootings. This is America in 2023.” Paul LeBlanc/CNN

*[ WSB ]_.