MASS KILLINGS IN AMERICA

Outrage and inaction: how the push for gun control rises and falls with each school shooting

Map of US with circles where there have been school shootings. Composite: Getty Images

Map of US with circles where there have been school shootings. Composite: Getty Images

The country experiences a mass shooting nearly every day while federal gun control legislation remains a distant dream

Alvin Chang and Andrew Witherspoon

Thu 26 May 2022 06.00 EDT

Last modified on Thu 26 May 2022 08.01 EDT 

 

"...Mass shootings are so common in America that most of these tragedies barely make a blip in the gun control debate.

The country experiences a mass shooting nearly every day, and once every three weeks someone is shot on school property, according to data from the Center for Homeland Defense and Security. The large majority of these shootings don’t get coverage in national media outlets, and after a day or two, the media moves on to the next story, politicians put gun control legislation on the back burner and Americans get apathetic about gun control.

Among the few things that keep gun control in the public consciousness are school shootings with large death tolls. . .

[    ] It took many children being killed in their classrooms for media coverage to stay focused on gun control, for more Americans to search for gun control online and, ultimately, for more Americans to support gun control measures.

Still, these political sentiments have yet to translate into even milquetoast federal gun control legislation.

...The data shows Americans are willing to change their opinions on gun control after these tragedies – that the majority of the country supports stricter gun laws, especially in the aftermath of deadly school shootings.

Congress, however, has been unable to enact what the majority of Americans want."