The Asian American Action Fund calls on politicians at all levels of government to take immediate action to end mass-shootings in the United States.
Mass shooting and active-shooter events have become too common- place and must be addressed. Data from the Gun Violence Archive reveals there is a mass shooting nine out of every 10 days on average. The FBI reports that the number of active shooter incidents has steadily increased. While in 2000 there was only one active shooter incident, in 2015 the nation suffered from 40 deadly shooters.
By not acting, our leaders are endangering every member of society, especially school-aged children. We are risking children’s lives and teaching them to live in fear. Rather than passing reasonable gun control laws, over 40 states have required active shooter drills in schools. Children are taught to hide and remain silent while actors pretend to open classroom doors. As a result the New York Times has labeled school aged-children the “mass shooting generation”.
Other nations have shown that laws can reduce the number of mass shooter events. In Australia the nation enacted sweeping gun-control laws as a result of a 1996 shooter who killed 35 people. In the 18 years before 1996 there were 13 mass shootings in Australia. There has not been a single mass shooter in the 21 years since the implementation of the gun control laws. Canada, the U.K, and Japan have also imposed effective gun-control laws.
Ultimately our mission is to secure the safety of the AAPI community and to create economic and educational opportunities for each member. Gun violence is an especially significant issue for the AAPI community as mass shootings have been linked to hate crimes. Effective gun reform will also address gun violence throughout the AAPI community, including the use of guns in cases of domestic violence and street crime.
We ask every politician to pass laws which will protect all lives and end the phenomenon of mass shootings.