Mass shootings are events that are, unfortunately, a common tragedy now. Every year, there seems to be a handful of these misfortunes that Americans ‘pray’ and pledge that ‘we aren’t afraid.’ Yet, it seems to continue, year after year, with an individual or some individuals, that rain down terror at an event to be of happiness and fun. I’ll examine the gun laws in some states that are upheld now, two tragic mass shooting events, and why I think America should get stricter gun laws considering these events.
First, the gun law in Nebraska is that “open carry is legal … with a valid license to carry, and you can have a handgun in your vehicle without a permit so long as it is clearly visible” and the Nebraska Constitution states that “… the right to keep and bear arms for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use, and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any subdivision thereof” (Ciyou). In contrast to North Dakota’s law: “Open carry is legal in North Dakota with a valid license to carry, but you can carry an unloaded handgun without a license during daylight hours, or at any time on your property” (Ciyou). And even contrasting with Arkansas: “Arkansas is a constitutional carry state, meaning that anyone legally allowed to possess a handgun may carry it open or concealed without a license’ (Ciyou).
As we can see, it differs slightly in each state. I was surprised to learn that Arkansas residents, that are legal, can open carry without a license. It’s an uncomfortable feeling that some states, the residents there don’t have to a license or go through any process to carry a gun around. This just being my opinion, of course.
The mass shooting that recently happened was the Las Vegas Massacre where an older man started shooting down at a concert from a window that he broke in his hotel room in Mandalay Bay. More than 50 killed and over 500 injured. As they all came together to help one another, there is still a looming terror of how anyone can do such a terrible thing. The second mass shooting that recently happened was in Plano, Texas on September 11, 2017 when a group of people came to a house for a Cowboys watch party and a man came in and started shooting at them. Killing 8, then he was killed by an officer (Heinz). No motive of why, but either way, it’s quite horrible. If we had stricter gun laws throughout the United States, then this could have been prevented.
Mental Illness is a very important consideration. I think as a nation, we need to enforce mental health evaluations more often, educated properly about mental illness and health, and just learn to be more open and kind to one another. It’s not ‘rainbows and butterflies’ out there, but if we educated people on the issues that are mentally at hand, then we might get to a good understanding of the causes and effects of mass shootings altogether. 
So, should Americans get stricter gun laws? Absolutely. But, what else needs to be done? Education and awareness on mental health can be an increasingly viable entity that could bring us closer to how we treat each other and look upon mental illnesses. It’s not that these murderers kill for no reason, they most likely had a mental illness that they never knew about or got treated for. It’s the gun itself and the person using it. You can see all of the shootings that have been reported at the ‘Gun Violence Archive’ website.
References
Ciyou, Bryan L. “Gun Laws By State.” Gun Laws By State, 2017, www.gunlawsbystate.com/#!/states/arkansas-gun-laws/introduction/.
“Mass Shootings.” Gun Violence Archive, Gun Violence Archive, 2017, www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting.
Heinz, Frank. “Victims of Plano Mass Shooting Identified.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 5 Oct. 2017, www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Identity-of-Plano-Gunman-Victims-Confirmed-by-Investigators-Tuesday-444044423.html.
