The Mass Media Effects on Gun Violence in America

Society has many problems that everyone has to manage. However, there some obstacles that people have controversial issues with. One issue would be gun controls. The authors, James L. Knoll IV and George D. Annas, discuss how mental health has contributed to mass shootings by people that have mental health issues. In the chapter, “No Solutions; Reasonable Measures,” by Stephen King, mentions some ways that gun control can be reduced in America. Lastly, the writers, Jared Michael Jashinsky, Brianna Magnusson, Carl Hanson, and Michael Barnes, reveal the consequences that the media implicates in gun violence before and after it is reported. Gun violence has been displayed as the main cause for massive deaths in America; however, people should anticipate the influence of society in others, the use of semi-automatic weapons, and the way the media reporters these violent causes. Children and adults encounter paranoid and fear by people that isolate them from social groups or the actions they take in life. According to the article, “Mass Shootings and Mental Illness,” it mentions different aspects that contribute to people committing mass murders. “Their worldview suggested a paranoid mind-set they spent a great deal of time feeling resentful... on past humiliations”.

People that have mental health problems usually encounter insecurities about the world and themselves, since society influences the way others treat them. Moreover, society isolates people in certain categories that make them feel unwelcome by anyone. These emotions cause children and adults to feel remorse against society, since they are label by others and can lead to mental health illness. Mental health illness can be cause by the emotions that others make people feel, which creates catastrophical issues in the world in this case gun violence. Gun violence occurs with one intention either for revenge or to let society know what they have created in one’s inner self. Discrimination against people can usually lead to massive chaos against society. The authors, indicate the fantasies that some people create in their heads after being treated horribly by others.. “...individuals who commit mass shootings often feel aggrieved, are extremely angry, and have nurtured fantasies of violent revenge”. These feelings drive certain people to hallucinate or fantasies about harming anyone that has treated them harshly or to make justice against the way that society acts for the actions people commit. For instance, some people may have the desire to make justice against police officers, teachers, or someone that has the power to take actions towards malicious people that were injustice to them. This leads to massive murders committed by people that were coping with mental health issues because they were not getting the help nor the attention people were looking for in others.

Moreover, this situation displays “psychosis” because people mistreated are fantasizing about getting revenge because they fear for their safety living in a place that makes then feel unwanted. Therefore, most people are willing to find a way to gain access to a semi-automatic weapon to commit a mass murder. People nowadays have access to a gun for: protection or to harm innocent individuals. Moreover, Semi- automatic weapons are more likely being purchased by civilians, since people do not have to reload the guns. The author, Stephen King, indicates some factors that can be used as measurements to reduce guns and murders. In the chapter, “No Solutions; Reasonable Measures,” it mentions, “Ban the sale of clips and magazines containing more than ten rounds.” Clips are used for loading ammunition into the magazine, and magazines are the area of the gun that feeds ammunition into the chamber. Clips just like magazines should be ban or at least reduce to a certain number of rounds less than 10. If the rounds are reduce, there’s a better chance of the ammunition running short. Moreover, the criminal would have to stop and reload which a bystander or the police would have the upper hand and be able to arrested the person before harming more people. In addition, the sale of guns in the U.S should be race up in order to reduce deaths.

Banning guns is unlikely to happen in America, since these weapons are used to protect the civilians. However, the sale of guns should be race up in order for people not to be able to get a hold of a destructible weapon. King reveals that banning assaulted guns is not likely happening, but he indicates some solutions. The author recommends, “Ban the sale of assault weapons such as the Bushmaster and the Ar-15.” Banning weapons that are highly dangerous and used in everydays wars should not be used by a civilian that is not part of the United States armed forces. Moreover, these rifles cause massive destruction to others, which increases the number of people murder. However, the U.S should race the price of guns sales to prevent people from having easily access in obtaining a rifle. In this case people would think twice before getting a rifle that would be out of their limiting in buying, which reduces the death in American. Moreover, rifles should not be sale to the public, since it can do an immense amount of harm but if someone buys it there are only two reasons. First reason, to hunt animals as an activity or second to kill someone for remorse. However, if semi-automatic weapons are reduced from advertisements then there’s a bigger chance that people would stick to a revolver. A revolver pistol would have to be load one by one, which perpetrators would be most likely stop and capture. However, if people keep looking at propaganda news this cycle of gun violence will still continue.

Media reporters tend to make a mass shooting worst by editing some features. The article “Media Agenda Setting Regarding Gun Violence before and after a Mass Shooting” reveals how the media contributes to gun violence and how the news does not put enough time into a problem. “Whereas the news media does not simply reflect reality but filters and shapes it...”. The media filters what people are going to view at home, which controls issues that should take more time into consideration to find ways to stop these scenarios. In addition, the media contributes into giving the perpetrators fame than going in depth into a solution about gun violence and if public health has anything to do about it. The more gun violence is distributed in the media the greater it is that others will want to have the same fame that the news puts into the aggressor. Propaganda brainwashes many people differently either for the better or the worst. In this case, gun controls influences people because they feel unsafe after listening, watching, or reading news that displays society destroying each other. The writers, emphasizes that “... news pieces largely ignored many of the entities that could have been responsible for the problem.”

The media tends to blames certain individuals about the mass shooting that has occurred, but they do not bother thinking about other aspects that could have contributed to the problem. The media does not focus of the way society contributes to one’s doing, nor the mental health that some people are experiencing. Moreover, the media does not mention solutions that people should take, rather it contributes into the problem because they keep covering same stories but in different scenarios. In addition, the media does not include if the perpetrator had asked for help before committing the crime. The media can have an influence on neutral people- that have not have an experience or been a victim of a gun violence. Moreover, the media will convey people to get a gun to defend themselves, and children can get brainwashed to do the same thing they see on the news. Therefore, this cycle of gun control can never finish because people are not taking action nor the U.S to come up with reasonable measurements into stopping these crimes.

Altogether, banning guns in America is not likely to happen, but society should find solutions that are measurable into taking into consideration by others. Society is to blame for causing mass shootings, since it discriminates the way an individual behaves or is excluded from social group. This causes most people to feel unwelcome or to resent the people that make them feel this way. However, some people may experience mental health illness which contributes to the action they take. Mental health problems lead to a much darker side because people can fantasize about killing others for revenge and not feel empathy for their offenders. Hence, people are able to get access to a semi-automatic weapon because they either do not feel protected, can easily get one from a website, and the media influences their fear for society not being a safe place to others. Therefore, gun violence can be changed if the media strive to inform people about reasonable solutions one can take to prevent massive shootings.