“Remember during the 2020 presidential race when Donald Trump refused to disown right-wing violent extremists, instead telling the Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”?
Last year I sold my old vacuum on Nextdoor, a social networking service for neighborhoods. A stranger responded to my listing, we agreed on a price, and we arranged a place and time for making the exchange. Until recently, I could have legally sold a gun in much the same way in 29 states.
What was supposed to be a time of happiness and optimism for a new beginning was ruptured by tragedy and terror. In late January 2023, two horrific mass shootings targeted Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, California.
“Four mass shootings in California in the past 10 days have left many wondering why this is still happening and what we can do to prevent it. In the Southern California city of Monterey Park, 11 people were killed in a ballroom by a man who was a frequent patron there. In Half Moon Bay, seven people were shot and killed at two agricultural sites by a co-worker.
“There is much talk about political violence in America these days. Garen Wintemute, a University of California, Davis, scholar who researches firearm violence, has recently led a nationwide survey research project on political violence. The Conversation U.S.
Whether the topic is highly publicized mass shootings like this summer’s tragedies in Uvalde and Buffalo, or the more silent but ongoing epidemic of suicides involving guns, research and context from the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program (VPRP) continues to inform national debate and public policy responses around the prevention of firearm violence.
Once again, the headlines are dominated by a gruesome mass shooting, this time resulting in the deaths of 19 school children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, right on the heels of the white supremacist attack in a Buffalo, New York supermarket that killed 10 people. Public mass shootings have profound impacts on survivors, families, and communities of victims, and the wider public's feelings of safety.
