Guns, guns, guns
Welcome to the second half of 2023.
We crossed the halfway point (day 182) on Sunday, July 2.
If the first half of the year is any indication, 2023 may be a record-breaking year.
It鈥檚 something we shouldn鈥檛 take lightly.
The United States of America, which worships gun ownership more than any other country on earth, is in line to experience more mass shootings than ever before.
As I type this, the Gun Violence Archive claims there have been 355 mass shootings so far this year.
Note: The Gun Violence Archive considers mass shootings to be when four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter.
Also, as I write this, there have been 143 children (age 0 to 11) killed, and 353 injured by gunfire this year.
Yet, in some parts of the country, Republicans are busily changing laws to protect children from reading about the effects of slavery, or from knowing about drag queens, but they鈥檙e mum when it comes to protections that could help save children from experiencing gun violence.
The July 4th weekend was especially bloody.
Sunday, July 2 鈥� Wichita, Kansas. Nine people were injured at a nightclub when four guns were used.
July 2 鈥� Baltimore, Maryland. Twenty-eight people were injured, and two people died. Some of the victims were small children.
Politicians were especially quiet about the holiday violence. They appeared at parades. But avoided discussions about guns or gun violence.
Monday, July 3 鈥� Fort Worth, Texas. Eight people were injured (including one juvenile). Three people were killed.
Fortunately for Republicans, Congress wasn鈥檛 in session, so they couldn鈥檛 appear and offer their customary 鈥渢houghts and prayers.鈥�
July 3 鈥� Philadelphia. Five people were killed and two injured by a heavily armed man wearing a bulletproof vest and a black ski mask. He was carrying three weapons, including an AR-style rifle. He managed to fire 40 shots before being apprehended.
In the past, any one of the mass shootings like the ones that took place over the Fourth of July weekend would have caused the 24-hour news networks to go live nonstop for hours.
There were too many of them to linger on just one mass shooting.
There wasn鈥檛 enough time to thoroughly cover one event because there were more about to happen.
From the Friday before the Fourth until the Wednesday after, there were 17 mass shootings, with 18 people killed and 102 people injured.
Tuesday, July Fourth 鈥� Lansing, Michigan. Five people were injured.
July 4 鈥� Shreveport, Louisiana. Three people were killed and six people were injured.
July 4 鈥� Edgewood, Maryland. Four people were injured.
July 5 鈥� Boston, Massachusetts. Five people were injured.
So far in 2023, there have been nearly 23,000 gun-violence deaths in America. That鈥檚 more than 100 a day.
We鈥檙e still no closer to finding a solution to the proliferation of guns and gun violence without it igniting heated conflicts today that are identical to the arguments that took place 20 years ago.
Wednesday, July 5 鈥� Salisbury, Maryland. One person was killed. Six were injured.
July 5 鈥� Chicago, Illinois. Four people were injured.
July 5 鈥� Paterson, New Jersey. One person was killed. Four people were injured.
July 5 鈥� Washington, D.C. Nine people were injured.
There were a few Democrats who appeared during the bloody holiday onslaught of nationwide violence.
One, Larry Krasner, Philadelphia鈥檚 district attorney, clearly showed his frustration with the lack of efforts to try to stem the tide of gun violence.
鈥淚t is disgusting the lack of proper gun legislation we have in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,鈥� he said during a news conference. 鈥淚t is time for everybody in our legislature, including the ones who walk around with an AR-15 lapel pin, it is time for every one of them to face the voters. And if they鈥檙e not gonna do something, then voters are gonna have to vote them out. Because that鈥檚 what that lapel pin means. It means 鈥榲ote me out,鈥� because I鈥檓 against you. And I鈥檓 against your safety,鈥� he concluded.
That鈥檚 a point worth pondering.
Edward A. Owens is a multi-Emmy Award winner, former reporter, and anchor for Entertainment Tonight, and 50-year TV news and newspaper veteran. E-mail him at freedoms@bellatlantic.net.