Reasonable gun reforms or continued slaughter? Republicans are choosing the latter

More than 1,500 people have been shot so far this year in North Carolina and a total of 76,523 – with 40,624 deaths – have been shot across the country, according to Gun Violence Archive.

The exact number in North Carolina is 1,516 at the time of this writing, with 348 of those victims coming from the Triangle, 348 in the Charlotte area and 347 Triad. 

Although we talk about gun violence in America as though it’s some sort of incurable sickness, the truth is that it’s not. America is an outlier – and unique because we have an entire political party (Republicans) dedicated to making sure just about anyone can get a weapon of war if they want one.

Gov. Roy Cooper recently gave the keynote address at a virtual gun safety conference where he spoke about how sensible policies can reduce gun violence without threatening the rights of responsible gun owners – such as stricter background checks, red flag laws, and the expansion of safe storage awareness programs.

According to WRAL, Democrats say that Republican leaders have refused to discuss gun safety and won’t even listen to proposals for “common-sense” gun safety laws. Democrats have introduced numerous bills and not a single one has even received a hearing in the legislature.

According to an NCDHHS report, there were more than 1,700 firearm-related deaths in our state in 2020, and in 2021 there were 116 children killed by a firearm. Firearms are the leading cause of child injury and death in North Carolina – and the numbers are increasing.

The United States has more guns than any other place in the world with 120 guns for every 100 Americans, and very few laws that control who can obtain these weapons of mass death. We must start holding Republican politicians accountable for their unwillingness to save lives.