America’s Mass Shootings: Where Do We Go From Here?

America has fallen victim yet again to a mass shooting, this time in Oregon.

On Thursday, we learned 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer shot and killed nine people between the ages of 18 and 67 and injured seven others at Umpqua Community College. Mercer later killed himself during a shootout with law enforcement officials.

According to a story published Thursday on The Independent website, in 2015 alone (so far) there have been 45 mass shootings in America.

Thursday’s shooting has already resulted in elected officials, such as President Barack Obama and presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, calling for action to be taken to pass greater gun control legislation.

What is utterly disturbing is the fact that these shootings continue to occur and intensify in America unabated.

Since he took office in 2009 Obama has been confronted with major mass shootings affecting Binghamton, N.Y., Fort Hood, Tex., Tucson, Ariz., Aurora, Colo., Oak Creek, Wis., Newtown, Conn., Washington, D.C., Chapel Hill, N.C. and Charleston, S.C. Each time, he has offered public condolences and prayers to the families and communities affected by the shootings, while calling for legislative action.

“We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months,” Obama said Thursday. “This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America. We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones.”

Despite political discussion and debate, the harm and mayhem continue.

On one end of the political spectrum are the pro-gun activists, consisting of the gun lobby–chiefly the National Rifle Association–as well as hunters and gun hobbyists who argue for more freedom to own and carry a weapon.

Their arguments run the gamut from the typical mantra, “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people,” to the inadequacy of our mental health care system and the preservation of the Second Amendment.

In contrast, on the other end of the political spectrum there are individuals and groups who want to see greater restrictions placed on who may purchase, own and carry a weapon. Specifically, this group wants to reform and strengthen the background check system, as well as implement a mandatory waiting period for gun purchases and institute a ban on assault weapons.

Political chatter and debate has done nothing but breed deep disagreement and anger, while intensifying the already existing gulf between both groups.

What is needed is a more level-headed approach to what has become a routine occurrence in the U.S.

Elected officials, the gun lobby, community leaders, nonprofits and the victims of current and previous gun violence must and should come together to not only discuss the issue, but arrive at common ground that will result in legislation that will address the ongoing problem of gun violence.

Action must be taken to ensure these shootings do not occur again.

When will we become so infuriated that we demand action from our political leaders to make the necessary changes to legislation?

Often an individual will not be spurred into action until a broader issue affects that person on an individual basis. I can only imagine that none of us in the Lehigh Valley, elsewhere in Pennsylvania or throughout the U.S. want such a tragedy to affect us personally.

Where do we go from here as a nation?

Some will argue the federal government and individual states should permit individuals the right to arm themselves in most, if not all, public places, such as schools, hospitals and churches. This approach, they assert, will provide a sense of safety and security and may prevent future mass shootings.

Is this truly a safe and viable solution? How will arming a public school teacher prevent further mass shootings? Should we address and confront gun violence with more gun violence? What does this say about America?

I truly hope in the coming days and weeks those in positions of power come together and deliver to the nation a solution that places the safety and well-being of all Americans above a particular political agenda.

Certainly, evil exists in this world at the hands of men and women determined to destroy a community and its people, yet this should not prevent us from making a concerted effort to stop the violence and deaths caused by recent mass shootings.

Will we take the necessary steps to ensure such incidents do not occur again, or will we avoid dealing with the shootings that continue to eat away at our communities, people and nation?

The choice is ours.

Bethlehem resident Mark Reccek began reporting in 2010. He is currently a distressed debt reporter for Prospect News, an online publisher of stock market and financial news. He also serves as a web reporter for WFMZ and the Lehigh Valley Press weekly newspapers. A native of the Lehigh Valley, Mark graduated from Lehigh University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science. He also holds a law degree from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served active duty from 1996-2000.