How To Prevent Mass Shootings

Mass shootings have been the subject of many conversations and debates over the years. It seems a shooting happens every fews months, which is all to often, and is in the news almost every day. Not long ago, in 2007, a shooter with a troubled history of mental health killed 32 people at Virginia Tech and injured many other students and faculty members (Seung 1). One of the most well known shootings was on April 20th, 1999. The event was known as Columbine. 13 high school students were killed, and 20 were injured. It sparked a debate over guns and how people should handle them that has never ended (Columbine 1). It was a tragic event that never should have happened. These shootings seem to have no end in sight. People have debated many ways to put an end to it, but it seems that …show more content…
Although mass shootings will always happen, better mental health laws, more ATF agents seeking illegal weapons, and adopting FOID cards could help curb them.

First, acquiring better mental health laws will prevent unstable people from obtaining weapons. In a study, 79% of mass shootings were caused by mentally ill citizens. That number is astounding. “CFIX analyzed 14 mass shooting incidents that occurred between 2011 and 2013 and found that only three of the shooters had no history of mental illness” (Fusion 1). This evidence supports the fact that we need more strict mental health laws. These ill people are getting weapons that they should not be allowed to have. This is unacceptable. The fact that these men and women are ill, but have access to weapons is insane. To get these weapons, they must not have been deemed crazy enough. Obviously they were, and they should have been deemed not fit for firearm purchase. If anyone has even a slight mental problem where they could potentially hurt themselves or others, why take the chance? It’s time to crack down on them. If laws were just slightly more strict, just think how many people would not slip