For every two mass shootings in 2013, there were five in 2023 (https://www.cnn.com/us/mass-shootings-fast-facts/index.html), climbing under both Democratic and Republican administrations. A bipartisan federal ban on assault weapons from 1994-2004 was backed by police across the country. It was a period with 70% fewer casualties from mass shootings, but it hasn’t been renewed, opposed by Republicans and spendthrift National Rifle Association lobbyists. Everyone, from Donald Trump to you and your next-door neighbor could become victims of a random or political gun attack. Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era historical fiction novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident.

Source: CNN July 22, 2024 19:14 UTC