America’s gun violence has become a topical issue again after a recent shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on September 4, 2024, prompting several questions concerning America’s gun laws in the forthcoming 2024 presidential election.
The attack that took place killed two students and two teachers and the remaining nine students and teachers were hospitalized. A boy of 14, Colt Gray was charged with the shooting. What makes this tragedy even worse is that Law enforcement agents had been informed and warned about this suspect in the year 2023 after he posted threats to commit violent acts, but were let off the hook since there was no probable cause.
That is why this event can be regarded as a part of the never-ending and rather sensitive discussions concerning gun control and school security issues as well as the particular public policies in the United States. The Apalachee High School shooting is one of a series of shooting sprees that occurred in America’s schools in the last several years. From the reports of the authorities, Gray employed an AR-style gun during the incident, a gun that has been used in other previous multiple shooting rampages. The shooting started at about 10:20 in the morning and the police were on the scene within 5 minutes which resulted in the suspect giving up.
Since the shooting took place there have been a lot of heartaches together with fury and vigils demanding more stringent gun control laws. People of Winder, Georgia as well as politicians came out to pay their respect to the victims through vigils and memorial services. Opaque figure U.S. Senator, Raphael Warnock, was also in attendance. The tragedy touched not only the state of Georgia but has joined over twenty other episodes of school shootings in the year 2024.
One of the most debated aspects of school shootings is the use of AR-15-style rifles that have been used in several other Massachusetts shootings of which Sandy Hook, Parkland, and Uvalde are examples. These semi-automatic guns can discharge rounds very quickly and are intended to cause as much harm as possible. Proponents of the measures that would make owning the guns “a crime” call for a ban or at least a stricter control of the firearms. They argue that such firearms have no usefulness in civilian use, especially when they are used for mass shooting incidences.
Critics on the other hand argue that this cannot be done citing the Second Amendment which allows the possession of firearms. They have criticized the government for banning specific types of weapons as being an infringement on individual liberty assertion that the gun control measures give a raw deal to criminals in that they will always circumvent the measures by sourcing for the weapons. This argument on AR-style weapons is arguably central to this ongoing gun control discussion as well as seems to shape the 2024 election narrative.
Gun laws in the United States are not harmonized with those of other states hence America has a very disjointed setup of gun laws that makes the process of enforcing the laws and making policies on the subject very hard. California and New York are among the states which have strict gun control policies which include assault weapons, high-capacity magazines, and station checks. Other states, especially in the southern and mid-western regions of the country are lax in-laws as regards the possession of guns with fewer control measures in place.
In Georgia where the Apalachee shooting took place the laws governing possession of firearms are not very strict. Indeed, there is no permit needed to purchase rifles, shotguns, or handguns, and therefore no waiting period on the part of the buyer. Georgia also recognizes the ‘open carry’ law with a license, and at the beginning of this year 2022, the Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp signed a bill making it legal for its citizens to carry concealed firearms without a permit.
But even with these kinds of relaxed regulations, Georgia has experienced some new incidents of gun violence, and after the Apalachee shooting people have called for stronger and better background checks on those barred from purchasing firearms, especially minors and people who have made threats to harm specific individuals or groups. According to the pro-gun control campaigners, Colt Gray had once threatened other people through social media and as a result, he had been investigated by the FBI over one year before the shooting yet he had never been prevented from owning guns.
At the federal level legislation on gun control has encountered major challenges even in the period after a major mass shooting. Due to the political divide on the issue in the United States of America, the U. S. Congress has remained mostly paralyzed on the subject for years. Democrats have time and again demanded universal background checks, banning assault rifles, and not allowing loopholes that allow private sellers to sell guns to buyers at gun markets without background checks while Republicans have flatly opposed the above measures citing that it violates the Second Amendment and does not address causes of gun violence, including mental health problems, and ineffective school security measures.
Some bills have been brought forward in the past few years like the Bipartisan Background Checks Act and the Assault Weapons Ban but none of those bills have passed the Senate due to lack of support. After the Santa Cruz elementary shooting in Uvalde in 2022, Congress could agree only on a relatively small bipartisan gun control measure, which aims at extending background checks for gun purchasers under the age of 21 as well as providing funding for community mental health initiatives and school security measures.
For the next presidential poll that is due in 2024, gun control is expected to be a key concern of the general population. Surveys reveal that the majority of Americans favor some degree of gun control with the strongest support being in favor of background checks and the prohibition of large-capacity magazines. Nevertheless, the electorate is still polarized mostly on a party basis. Although a large majority of Democrats back tighter gun control legislation, a large portion of Republicans still disagree and are convinced that such measures are pointless and unconstitutional.
Following the Apalachee shooting, Joe Biden has again called for the assault weapons ban and an improvement of the background checks. Biden’s administration has also supported the so-called “red flag” laws, which allow law enforcement to take guns away from a person for a short period if that person is deemed to be a threat to himself or others. Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States of America, has been one of the most aggressive advocates for an adequate gun law asking the question “It doesn’t have to be this way” and condemning the access to guns among youngsters.
On the more conservative side of the aisle, however, the Republicans have mainly called for increased security in schools not banning firearms. Ex-president of the United States of America Donald Trump who wants to become a president again in 2024 has attributed the proliferation of mass shooting incidents to mental health problems and has urged allowing teachers to carry guns and boost police presence in schools to discourage the shooter. This was prominent throughout the trial in which the Republican vice-presidential nominee J. D. Vance said that school shootings are just the next “fact of life” and that schools should be further secured to avoid future incidents.
The gun lobby especially the National Rifle Association has been pinpointed as one of the key reasons why substantial progressive change in gun laws has not been realized in the United States. The NRA has been a major player in the US political arena for many years, leveraging its financial might and drawing on its influence to advocate against gun control legislation and appeal for the support of politicians who also believe in the Second Amendment. The NRA’s stance revolves around the Second Amendment and positions the right to bear arms as something that has to be fought for aggressively.
As the key gun rights advocates, the NRA and other gun organizations will be influential in the firearm regulation discourse in the run-up to the 2024 general election. These groups are expected to back the candidates who are against such a move while the gun control lobbying groups such as Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for gun reform.
The case of the Apalachee High School shooting has raised a concern and public opinions can act as a driving force to bring changes and this applies to the next election period. The last polls show that the majority of Americans supported improved gun control laws like universal background checks and prohibition of assault weaponry. Keep in mind that urban dwellers hold different views from the rural part as most of the former believe in the need for strict gun laws while most of the latter believe otherwise.
More specifically, the prospect of Democrats keeping the White House and making progress in Congress may mean that even stricter gun legislation may become law in the next few years. But, considering the current highly polarized environment in Washington, simple, let alone significant progress in this process, cannot be taken for granted. In the swing states like Georgia where the shooting of the Apalachee people occurred gun control will play a definitive factor when voting in close contests.
Now, the shooting that occurred at Apalachee High School became one of the topics about gun control, which surfaced in the American political agenda. This new year has been marked with another heinous tragedy that saw innocent lives lost and because of this; the gun control issue is expected to be a significant factor for future elections, particularly the one in 2024. As the country is still polarized regarding how to combat the problem of mass shootings, survivors and activists for change still fight for what could potentially prevent a future similar scenario.
The next election will be focused on many questions, but few are as sensitive and acute as the question of gun control. Whether the United States will experience the reforms in the years to come depends on the voters, lawmakers, as well as different non-governmental organizations that will deal with this complicated and very sensitive issue.
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