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 reopen and the academic year begins. Every four years, the presidential elections and the ongoing electoral campaigns reach their final round.
For years, with the start of the academic year, when school doors open and students and teachers reunite, everyone is ready for good news and the excitement of meeting classmates. School officials are also prepared for potential public shootings. Public shootings in American schools have become commonplace. On Wednesday, just a few days after the academic year began, 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 American states. The shooter, who has been arrested, is only 14 years old. 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, shaped by conservative Republicans, many minimum gun control measures do not exist, and no law requires parents to prevent teenagers and children from accessing guns. The infamous Sandy Hook school massacre, where schoolchildren were victims, is considered a bitter and historic event that tied the issue of gun carrying to school safety.
Conservatives and Republicans, who are supported financially by the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers, have in recent years initially thwarted Obama’s efforts to enact strict laws and then systematically changed the laws in states where they had legislative dominance to favor gun carry freedom.
For school safety, instead of restricting gun carrying, they proposed armed guards and arming teachers, and even implemented the latter plan in some states. The phenomenon of armed teachers in classrooms is not even seen in war-torn countries.
The most common school drill and preparedness exercise is not for earthquake response but for responding to public shootings and teaching how to stay safe from an attacker. The most important first aid equipment includes special kits to prevent deadly bleeding from gunshot wounds.
Since 2012, the election process has been accompanied by a familiar phenomenon: Americans’ interest in guns mixed with the concern and hatred of others over losing loved ones in public shootings. This issue is always part of American electoral debates.
This year, the discussion was overshadowed by talks of the economy and livelihood and immigrant debates. Now, with the public shooting in Georgia, this discussion might reignite. Interestingly, the subsequent trend of news related to public shootings usually benefits Republicans and gun rights supporters.
Two specific groups should be considered: those interested in gun carrying, a special segment of American society, and even among Democrats, there is a particular group that is fond of guns.
Gun sales 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 segment of America. This group feels compelled to arm themselves because they live in a country where everyone is armed, and insecurity dominates life.
Following newsworthy public shootings, both groups we described turn to buy guns, and the gun sellers’ market flourishes.
In the wake of public protests over George Floyd’s death by police, both blacks and whites suddenly turned to buying guns.
In this situation, 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 sales laws, significantly increase their sales in the election month. The scent of the school month, the election month, and the gun month returns.
