The scent of the school month, the election month, the month of guns and blood
As Labor Day holidays in America come to an end, schools open, the academic year begins, and every four years, the presidential elections and the ongoing electoral competitions enter their final round.
For years, with the start of the school year, as school doors open and students and teachers meet again, everyone is ready for good news and the excitement of seeing classmates, and school officials are also prepared for the potential of public shootings. Public shootings in American schools have become commonplace. On Wednesday, just a few days into the school year, the first public school shooting in America occurred in Georgia.
According to initial reports, four people were victims.
This state has some of the weakest gun control laws among the states in America. The shooter, who has been arrested, is only 14 years old, and according to the announced procedure, he will be prosecuted and charged as an adult, which means serious details about him and his motive for this crime will be released. Based on Georgia’s laws, which have been shaped by conservative Republicans, many minimum gun control measures do not exist, and no law requires parents to prevent teenagers and children from accessing weapons. The infamous Sandy Hook school massacre and the killing of student children should be considered a tragic and historical event that tied the issue of gun carrying and school security together.
Conservatives and Republicans supporting gun carrying, who are seriously financially backed by the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers, have over the years first thwarted Obama’s efforts to enact serious laws and then, in a planned process, changed the laws of states where they had a majority in the state legislature in favor of gun carrying freedom.
For school security, instead of restricting gun carrying, they proposed the presence of armed guards and arming teachers, and even implemented this second plan in some states. The phenomenon of armed teachers in the classroom has not been seen even in war-torn countries.
The most common school readiness drill is not for dealing with earthquakes but for coping with public shootings and teaching how to stay safe from an attacker. The most important first aid tools are special kits for preventing deadly bleeding caused by gunshot wounds.
Since 2012, the election process has been accompanied by a familiar phenomenon: Americans’ interest in guns mixed with the worry and hatred of another group over the loss of their loved ones in public massacres, and this issue is always part of America’s electoral debates.
This year, this discussion had faded into the background amidst debates on the economy, livelihood, and immigration. Now, with the public shooting in Georgia, this debate might come alive again. Interestingly, the subsequent trend of news related to public shootings usually benefits Republicans and gun rights supporters.
Two specific groups should be considered: one is gun enthusiasts, a special part of American society, and even after all these crises and public massacres, a specific group among Democrats also has an interest in guns.
Gun sale exhibitions, tours, and shooting and hunting clubs are an important part of the culture in various regions.
The other group is the worried and distrustful Americans. This group feels forced to arm themselves because they live in a country where everyone is armed and insecurity rules life.
Following public massacres that make the news, both groups we described turn to buying weapons, and the gun market booms.
Following public protests over the killing of George Floyd by police, both Black and White people suddenly turned to buying weapons.
In these conditions, with the arrival of the election season, in the last two decades, every four years, gun sellers, by advertising and scaring people about the potential tightening of gun sale laws, significantly increase their sales in the election month. The scent of the school month, the election month, and the gun month returns.