I submit herewith a proposal in regards to a research study entitled ‘Mass shooting and Violence,’ which is to be conducted under my direction and with the help of the research materials provided by the university.
The report will analyze previous cases of shooting and gun violence that have occurred in the recent years in the United States. The research data gathered will be obtained from secondary sources provided in the university library and from the media. Based on the gathered data, it is estimated that there are 265 million guns owned in America, which brings the figure to at least one gun per person. With such prevalence of gun availability, the number of mass shooting in America has increased with an estimated number of 1624 cases in a span of 1870 days. That is to say, almost every day, there is a reported case of mass shooting and violence.
Therefore, the magnitude of this research is seen from the number of death cases reported due to mass killing and violence. Despite the use of secondary sources in this research, there is a dire need of conducting an interview with the survivors of such cases and the perpetrators that have been sentenced to years in jail. The interview will reveal the cause of action and the critical measures to be taken to survive from the scene of action. However, fulfilling such plans will require funding and time, which the university may provide in regards to this research.
Your consideration to my request will be highly appreciated.
Yours faithfully,
{Name of the sender}
Informative abstract
With the increasing cases of gun violence across the globe, USA is the most prevalent with at least 31% of the total world cases of mass shooting. The high cases could be attributed to the gun laws Act, which promotes gun ownership and purchases. In most cases, the mass shooters reveal psychological challenges such as distress, anger, and social rejection, which trigger them to hurt people through mass shootings. For this reason, the federal government has the role of amending the gun laws, promoting mental health programs, and regulating media content from displaying violent scenes. Based on the recommendation of the study, the government can also introduce a new policy called “one family, one firearm’ that reduced the number of gun ownership. Such actions will minimize the ease of access to guns, thus reducing mass shootings.
Keywords: Mass shootings, guns, depression
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction6
Previous cases of mass shootings7
Causes of Mass shootings8
The psychological perspective of mass shooters 10
Remedies to reduce Mass killings11
Conclusion and Recommendation13
Bibliography...…………………………………………………………………………………. 14
Executive summary
Over the years, the number of mass shootings has increased rapidly with a report indicating about 1624 shooting occurring in a span of 1870 days. On average, approximately every day in America, there are reported cases of mass shooting. The high prevalence of mass shooting can be attributed to the high ease of availability of guns, where most adults own guns. Most mass shooters end up committing suicide after the act due to the sense of guilt and the feeling of hopelessness. That means most individuals commit mass shooting subconsciously due to the mental depression and stress affecting them. Therefore, unless the federal government manages gun ownership and promote mental health facilities, the cases of mass shooting will not cease to end.
Introduction
Mass shooting is an incident that involves multiples victims that are involved in gun-related violence. Over the years, the number of cases involving mass shooting has increased with prevailing cases occurring in schools, hospitals, and other public gatherings. A study conducted by BBC news reveal that among the major superpower nations in the world, USA is the leading nation in mass killing with a total of 31 percent of all the cases of mass killing across the globe (np, 2016). The major reason for such a high prevalence of mass shooting could be attributed to the gun laws developed in the USA, which allows most individuals to have the possession of guns. Secondly, the morality in America is a contributor to the cases of mass shooting, where individuals have lacked moral values and the sense of humanity due to the lifestyle stereotyped by the modern society (Winegard and Ferguson 60). Besides, the rate of violence in America is another problem where children are exposed to violence at an early age through the media, thus reciprocating such actions in reality. In a psychological perspective, mass shooters encounter several mental confrontations where they feel humiliated and victimized by the society, thus developing the anger that results in killing innocent people.
In their minds, the mass shooters encounter intense rage where they feel that killing one person is not satisfactory. Therefore, despite the high cases mass shooting attributed to the availability of guns and the perceptions of the shooters, it is evident that reformation needs to be reviewed in the legal perspective to promote gun control. Besides, therapeutic intervention is necessary for mentally challenged individuals to minimize their chances of committing such actions.
Past Cases of Mass shooting
A dark day in America occurred on December 14, 2012, where a twenty-year-old introverted youth, Adam Lanza, woke up early that morning killing his mother in cold blood. A few minutes later, the Lanza drove to Sandy elementary school located in Newtown, Connecticut and initiated a mass shooting in the locked building. In a span of one hour, Lanza massacred approximately 20 boys and girls in the first grade and six staff members; including teachers. Later on, Lanza shot himself to the head before he was apprehended. In a statement written about the case, Lanza’s father expressed his distraught and disbelief to the actions.
In a similar occasion, a sixty-four-year-old man called Stephen Paddock, who lives in Mesquite, Nevada, initiated a mass shooting on 1 October 2017 to a crowd of twenty-two thousand concert-gatherers. Paddock went to Mandalay Bay resort and killed fifty-eight people. Witnesses reported that the shooting lasted for about fifteen minutes and after the incidence, Paddock killed himself. In an autopsy report conducted on Paddock, it was revealed that he had an aggressive brain tumor that had not been diagnosed. Furthermore, the investigation was conducted on the gun ownership, which revealed that Paddock had legally purchased the gun.
A critical analysis of the cases mentioned above
From the two cases illustrated above, it is evident that most mass shootings are targeted at places with high turnout; such as schools and public gatherings. Furthermore, mass shooters vary in age whereby a person may commit such actions at a young or old age (Winegard and Ferguson. 63) Based on the case of Paddock, the sixty-four-year-old brain tumor victim, it may be assumed that such actions were attributed to his medical condition, which erased his sense of reasoning and humanity. Besides, it could also be assumed that Paddock was suffering from intense depressions and several suicidal thoughts.
Causes of Mass shooting and violence
Access to firearms and the gun laws in America
Americans have the ability and right to own most types of firearms, and such ownership depends on the state of their occupation, residence, personal status, and age. However, some gun models such as the machine guns, short-barreled rifles, and short guns have been limited to individuals with federal gun licenses (Heing np). Therefore, with such prevalence of guns in the society, most individuals have been triggered to misuse the guns and engage in mass shootings. Furthermore, the high availability of guns in America has provided the accessibility of the firearms to young individuals who lack moral control. For this reason, the youth may use the guns to express their anger, thus leading to mass shootings. On the other hand, the high availability of guns may increase the chances of the firearms landing in the arms of unsound individuals, who may use the guns to engage in mass shootings.
Ineffectiveness and poor funding of the Mental Health Programs
Most mass shooters have similar characteristics that include resentment, social isolation, depression, tendency to blame others, an interest in weaponry, and being fascinated with violence. While such attributes tend to increase among the individuals in the society, there is a need to provide proper health programs to help them recover and have a positive attitude towards life. However, since the economic recession of 2009, there has been a reduction in the expenditure channeled to state public mental health facilities. Such occurrences have resulted in limited research studies regarding the topic of mass shooting and poor service provision to the potential victims of mass shootings (Fox and Levin 41). Furthermore, poor funding of the mental health organizations has reduced the employment of skilled therapist, who are able to identify potential mass killers.
A high connection to media violence
Today’s media has taken part in promoting scenes with violent acts, which is negatively influencing the younger generations. A post provided by BBC News indicated that more than two-thirds of the cable and network television shows have one or more violent events, which averages to six acts of violence per hour (np, 2016). In addition, the study revealed that at the age of eighteen years, an average child has been exposed to approximately two hundred thousand acts of violence, which includes at least sixteen thousand murders. From such exposure, it is evident that the current generation has been exposed to severe media shows that promote acts of violence (Heing np). For such scenes, most children and youths tend to adopt a wild behavior cultivated by poor moral values. For this reason, it is likely that such children may be triggered to have a reduced sense of guilt towards killing, thus providing a high probability of engaging towards mass shooting.
The state of the economy and the modern lifestyle
The high cost of living in America with inflated prices of goods and commodities has generated a form of pressure to most individuals living below poverty level. To the individuals who find it difficult to make a living, such economic conditions have resulted in depression, deteriorating health, and poor lifestyle conditions (Fox and Levin 44). From the perspective of the victims to such conditions, they assume that the world is unfair and opt to revenge to the society to hurting innocent individual, thus resulting in mass shootings. Therefore, the economic state of America is quite stressful and while some people endow in suicidal thoughts, others engage in mass killings.
The psychological perspective of mass shooters
Based on the psychological autopsy and close analysis of the mass shooting, is it evident that most shooters are injustice collectors that spend most of their time feeling resentful about past occurrences and humiliating conditions. The paranoid worldview developed by such perpetrators generate from the feeling of envy, grudge, social persecution, and bitterness, which suppress their moral reasoning and trigger them engage in criminal activities (Wilson 633). Furthermore, the linkage of such conditions with mass shootings occurs from the need to hurt people, which can be easily manifested through mass shooting.
Most mass shooters lack a sense of control towards their own lives due to the circumstances instilled by the societal conditions. For instance, rejected people and individuals that suffer from chronic conditions lack the sense of living and idealizes on how to actualize their suicidal thoughts. However, instead of committing suicide, the shooters opt to involve other innocent individuals in their ending world and decide to commit suicide alongside other victims (Wilson 635). Such reasoning results in the cases of mass shooting and most of the shooters end up killing themselves in that event.
Remedies to reduce Mass killings
The amendment of the gun laws
Gun laws are among the controversial issues discussed in today’s parliament. The legal basis for the possession of a firearm in the USA is embodied in the Second Amendment of the American constitution. According to the Gun control Act of 1968, the regulation of firearms requires a person intending to possess a firearm to be above the age of eighteen years. Secondly, the law prescribes potential purchasers of firearms as individuals that are deemed not to be dangerous to the society and those that are of sound mind (Winegard and Ferguson 66). The gun law also hinder the people who have been guilty of offenses from purchasing or possessing firearms.
Therefore, despite the strict amendment of the gun laws in America, is it evident that several loopholes in gun control have increased the high number of mass shooters. For this reason, the federation should standardize gun ownership to limit the high number of gun purchase. This could be achieved by developing the ‘one house one gun policy’ that allows only one gun possession per household. Providing such limitation will limit the high number of gun ownership and provide a sense of responsibility towards each gun. Secondly, the federal government could also deploy officials to provide a background check on the gun usage and repossess guns from potential mass shooters. This could be possible through gathering report from the neighborhood regarding how a person uses his/her firearm. In addition, high penalty charges should be provided to the individuals that possess firearms illegally (Fox and Levin 47). Such attempts will help regulate gun control thus reducing the number of mass shootings.
Funding mental health programs and promoting further scholarly research studies
Based on the high number of victims suffering from depression, stress, rejection, and mental challenges, the federal government should promote psychological counseling programs to the potential mass shooters. The potential shooters could be identified through learning the behavioral patterns of individuals in the neighborhood and psychiatric patients. For this reason, proper funding is required to provide additional training to the counselors to enable them to identify potential victims of the mass shooting.
Regulating the media content
Since media plays a major role in regulating the behavior of modern children, it is critical to regulate the content displayed by the media stations. The communication authority should request for a prior submission of the media content about the displayed for inspection purposes (Heing np). The authority should also impose fines, taxes, and suspension to the media stations that disobey the stipulated regulations. Such actions will minimize the exposure of the children to the scenes of violence, thus reducing mass shootings. Furthermore, the production of movies and video games should be regulated to minimize the exposure of children to scenes of violence. When a child engages in a violent game, he/she develops a violent behavior and deteriorates their moral reasoning. For this reason, during stressful moments, the child may find the closest weapon and emulate the role of mass shooters. Therefore, video games and movies promoting violence should be banned from production.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Therefore, mass shooting and violence is a criminal activity practiced by individuals that suffer from mental challenges and other behavioral conditions. From the psychological perspective, the mass shooters suffer rejection and depression that trigger them to hurt innocent people. From the previous cases reported on mass shooting, it is evident that such actions are attributed to the ease of gun accessibility, poor mental health programs, economic conditions, and media content. Therefore, the federal government should amend the gun control laws to limit the purchase and usage of firearms. Furthermore, through understanding the behavioral patterns of the potential perpetrators, skilled psychologists could assess the likelihood of mass shooting occurrence and identify potential shooters. Therefore, the society should join hands in rebuking the inhuman acts of mass killing through embracing proper moral values and reporting potential mass shooters.
Works Cited
BBC News. "Guns in the US: The statistics behind the violence." 5 Jan. 2016,
Fox, James A., and Jack Levin. "Explaining Mass Shootings." The Wiley Handbook of the Psychology of Mass Shootings, 2016, pp. 36-55.
Heing, Bridey. Investigating Mass Shootings in the United States. 2018.
Wilson, Laura C. "Mass Shootings: A Meta-Analysis of the Dose-Response Relationship." Journal of Traumatic Stress, vol. 27, no. 6, 2014, pp. 631-638.
Winegard, Benjamin, and Christopher J. Ferguson. "The Development of Rampage Shooters." The Wiley Handbook of the Psychology of Mass Shootings, 2016, pp. 57-76.
