It is no secret that there has been a growing problem with gun violence over the last few decades in the United States. There are many theories, but facts don’t lie when it comes to numbers. According to gunviolencearchive.org, a non-profit corporation, “formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States” there were exactly 14,569 gun-related deaths in 2018 alone. This is a large number, and obviously some of the deaths can be attributed to accidents or gang violence. What is more shocking, however, is the number of mass shootings: 339.

Not only this, but a large percentage of shootings in the US occur inside of schools, “A total of 65 shootings were reported on school campuses in 2017” and “Reported injuries from an active shooter situation at a middle school in Indiana mark the 43rd school shooting incident so far this year [2018]” (Jeffery, ABC News). An article written by The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board for the San Diego Times details this issue in particular, “Starting with Columbine, there have been 85 school shootings…These shootings have killed 223 people, including students, teachers, and staff…”

These are truly terrifying numbers in comparison to those of other countries. According to snopes.com, a reliable source for fact-checking information, “After a gunman killed schoolchildren and a teacher in Scotland in 1996, the U.K. banned handguns; no school shootings have taken place there since.” This claim has been proven to be true, and shows that this particular problem that the U.S. has with mass shootings is not one that the world shares. Other countries tend to handle these issues differently. Because of this, we should be more aware for the future. The New Year brings many opportunities, including the opportunity to try to eliminate gun-related deaths for the future. As a nation, everyone should pay more attention to these grave issues; it might help save lives.