(NewsNation) — Debate has been ongoing for the past decade regarding how to address gun violence in America. This issue has divided Americans into two main arguments: the proliferation of guns and the mental health crisis.
This topic was discussed during a NewsNation town hall on Monday night, which focused on crime in America. Mayors and law enforcement officials answered questions about their efforts to protect their communities.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz of Toledo, Ohio criticized Republicans who exclusively attribute gun violence to mental health problems while ignoring the oversaturation of guns.
“We are the only country in the history of the world with more guns than people,” stated the Democratic mayor.
The United States has the highest gun ownership rate in the world, with approximately 120 guns per 100 people, according to a 2018 report from the Small Arms Survey. The organization, based in Geneva, estimates that U.S. gun owners possess 393.3 million firearms, which surpasses the country’s population of 330 million.
This gun ownership rate is more than double that of Yemen, the country ranked second with 52.8 guns per 100 people. Additionally, the total number of guns in the United States is more than five times greater than the number in India, which has 71.1 million guns among its 1.4 billion population.
“There is only one country, just one, that has essentially given up on taking action…It should not be a stretch to try to prevent mentally ill individuals and terrorists from possessing AR-15s, but the U.S. Senate refuses to do so, and the U.S. Supreme Court does not seem to care,” said Kapszukiewicz. “Disagreements that used to result in playground fights resulting in black eyes or bloody lips now end in homicides.”
“While I support mental health initiatives, I do not appreciate it when” politicians suggest that mental health is the sole problem, he added.
Pinal County, Arizona Sheriff Mike Lamb countered that guns are inanimate objects that are misused by individuals exhibiting bad behavior.
“Guns in the wrong hands are dangerous, while guns in the right hands are beneficial,” Lamb argued. “Fatalities from car accidents far exceed those from gun crimes.”
Calls for gun reform have intensified following tragedies in public malls, workplaces, and schools, including Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
In the five years since that shooting, the Trump administration banned “bump stocks,” and in 2022, Congress passed the most extensive federal legislation in decades.
Advocates for gun reform have also advocated for the implementation of red flag laws that allow judges to issue orders temporarily preventing individuals who have demonstrated signs of violent intent from owning guns.
Lamb proposed solutions such as increasing the presence of school resource officers and restricting access to schools.
“We do a much better job of protecting our airports and planes than we do our children in schools, and I believe that is where society has gone astray,” Lamb concluded. “We need to do a better job of identifying children who are showing signs of mental health issues.”