Not to seem impatient, but when New Zealand experienced their own tragic mass shooting, the event, which was facilitated with the help of AR-15 assault weapons, drew immediate condemnation. The government, the public, and the world trained their attention on the country, which has more than their share of weapons owned lawfully by the population.  Those mosque shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand led parliament to quickly act, and on Wednesday this week passed sweeping gun laws which outlaw military-style weapons.  That’s right.  Tragedy, reaction, action, law, enacted, and complete in less than a single month. That nation’s worst mass shooting left 50 dead and 39 wounded in a shooting event that affected two mosques in the South Island city of Christchurch.

What can we learn from this? Certainly that a motivated government can make things happen with enough motivation. How many in America have to die in an event to trigger this kind of reaction?  50? 100?  The Vegas shooting in 2017 killed 58, and wounded almost 450 more people. Was that enough?  Evidently not.  What’s the magic number?  100? 200?  It seems that Americans can say “It’s too soon” or maybe “It’s too late” or maybe “It’s not personal enough” to take action.  But is that really an option any longer?  So what’s the magic number for the American government to brave common sense reform like New Zealand?  For more background on how the weapons will be handled now that they’re outlawed, please see: https://www.apnews.com/0b44b78faac84e15a348ac861beacb3a

There has to be a number.

Image: AP Photo/Vincent Thian