The news out of Uvalde, Texas, was devastating: 19 children and 2 teachers murdered. But that was one of numerous mass shootings in a matter of days and weeks in this country. No community should have to go through what these communities are going through, yet, this happens all too often. The Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah aches for the families and communities that continue to struggle with massive gun violence. Just in the month of May, we have mourned countless lives sacrificed to gun violence. Yet, in the twenty-five years since this organization has existed, lawmakers in Utah have done little to nothing to address this growing public health crisis.

Texas has experienced four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in recent history. And yet, Texas lawmakers, like those in Utah, just made it easier for people to carry firearms without training or a background check. It is far too easy for individuals in this country to obtain a gun and Texas, as well as Utah, have some of the laxest gun laws in the country. What just happened in Texas can easily happen here in Utah.

It does not have to be this way. We know this because states with more stringent gun laws experience lower rates of gun violence per capita. Some want to claim that we have a mental health issue in this country. Yet other developed countries do not experience the level of gun violence that the U.S. does and yet have similar levels of mental health diagnoses. Nowhere else in the developed world do children go to school wondering if they might be shot that day.

Gun violence is a public health crisis and needs to be addressed in a way that considers research and evidence-based approaches. The simplest measures that do not infringe on 2nd Amendment rights, such as requiring background checks for all gun sales or safe storage of firearms, continue to be rejected by Utah lawmakers. We hope that this horrific barrage of numerous mass shootings across the country will prompt Utah lawmakers to reconsider that human lives are worth a minor inconvenience for responsible gun owners.

Terri Gilfillan

Board chair, Gun Violence Prevention Center of Utah

Sandy

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