Gun violence has been on the rise in the United States throughout the 2020s, particularly in political gun violence. These specific acts of violence focus towards government leaders, with more and more tragic endings. The topic has sparked debate all across the news and social media, with many varied opinions. Whether the topic is on Charlie Kirk’s assassination or Melissa Hortman’s, both are devastating. Both deaths were from the hands of gun violence, with many arguing against the use of guns and how they are affecting society today.
Threats and concerning statements towards members of Congress and government officials, including family, have more than doubled the amount since 2017. The increased threats show a pattern of rising violence towards political leaders, making them more common every year.
Minnesota state representative and English teacher Josiah Hill talked about how political violence is not a new occurrence, but there has been a higher frequency of acts committed in our lifetimes.
Google Trends has shown drops in searches for political violence, showing that people may be getting more and more desensitized to the topic, with a growing number of angry people and distaste towards others online. This creates a safe space for people to not only share their strong opinions and ideas about politics, but also to make the topic of deaths and violent acts a more common occurrence in the country.
“We as a country used to be able to express our thoughts and opinions and still disagree, but there wasn’t this angry mentality that came from it as an overall,” Jason Caballero, U.S. History and Government Economics teacher, explained.
Platforms like social media push the hatred into people’s algorithms, making the support behind these violent acts a more common and larger event, while producing a space for those mindsets and ideas to prosper. With around 79% of Americans on social media, more people get “sucked” into the comments and videos put out to target certain political parties or people. As more people interact with those videos, more will appear, creating a cycle. These videos or comments affect people’s opinions on certain topics, which can lead to fixed mindsets.
“People can get on there and put whatever they want, and there is no consequences for their actions,” Officer Dave Wynia said.
A majority of Americans (61%) say that it is too easy for people to legally and illegally get hold of a gun. With so many ways and types, it is not a struggle for even young kids to acquire one. This rise in the availability of guns is making it more and more common for armed offenders, which leads to the deaths or serious injuries of political leaders. Because it is becoming easier to get guns, younger offenders are becoming a growing trend throughout cities and states.
Political gun violence is an important topic to discuss within our country. Ultimately, society must strive to come together and find solutions. Political gun violence is a hard debate on the cause, whether it is the social media disconnection from reality or people caring less and less about consequences. It is also a hard debate on how to stop it; some say more gun control, or banning guns altogether, and others say there needs to be more mental health help efforts. Either way, most agree that political gun violence does not have a positive outcome for anyone or anything.
