A few weeks ago, following a deadly mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, Walmart announced their decision to cease the sale of ammunition for military-style firearms, as well as ban open carrying in their stores.
From gun control advocates, this decision was met with praise. One of the largest problems the United States faces in the fight against gun violence is just how easily accessible firearms are.
In the United States, residents have to jump through more hoops just to get a driver’s license than own a firearm. In this sense, by putting a bit more regulation on the sale, Walmart is setting a good example. However, not everyone saw the store’s decision in the same light.
From the perspective of gun rights advocates and organizations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA), Walmart’s decision was seen as an act of succumbing to a societal pressure that pushes against second amendment rights.
We live in a dangerous time. The anxiety surrounding gun violence is at an all-time high, and all it seems to do is grow. But none of the anxiety that people feel is unwarranted. To ignore it would be to simply deny the facts.
America is facing an ever-rising frequency of mass shootings. With more and more occurring, the national media is becoming number to it all.
Though the shooting in El Paso received mass media attention, there has been little word of the multiple other shootings that have happened since.
Since the El Paso shooting, the United States has faced 57 more shootings. Some, like the Aug. 31 shooting in Odessa, Texas and the Aug. 4 shooting in Dayton, Ohio received national attention. Others, like a shooting in Cheyenne, Wyo. just last week that killed two and the shooting at a mobile home park in Albuquerque, N.M. that killed four, only received local coverage.
America is becoming numb to gun violence, and as it continues to rise, the danger in our indifference to death is life-threatening.
We should be able to live our lives knowing that we’ll make it home at the end of the day. But right now, that can’t be promised.
The anxiety the country feels is very real. And though we still have many, many more steps to take until we get to real change, Walmart’s decision is one that takes us in the right direction.
Roberto Portillo
When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns. By definition, outlaws do not nor will obey all the well-intentioned laws you pass. Laws only drive up the price of “illegal guns”, which will make shady black market gun dealers very happy and wealthy.
We need to work with our young children to form a cohesive, loving, adult future generation of Americans. Fear of one another leads to hate and “tribalism” in America. We have to develop a more “global” culture in America where we can all coexist in a shrinking and very diverse world. I think our parents a d our whole educational system is where our focus needs to be in order to find a solution to the root cause.
FYI I have an MBA in Global Management
Robert Portillorobert123
Roberto Portillo
Educating our children (and ourselves) regarding our place in our rapidly shrinking planet is indispensable if we are all to successfully survive (and thrive) globalization’s manny challenges
Robert Portillo
MBA Global Management