The list of mass shootings in the US has continued to grow with this past Saturday’s shooting in Monterey Park after a Lunar New Year festival.   

A gunman entered a dance studio armed and left 10 people dead. The suspect responsible for the shooting committed suicide shortly after.

This shooting is the deadliest in the US since the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. 

This week, there was also a mass shooting at Half Moon Bay leaving seven people dead, California’s third mass shooting in eight days. 

We’re going in the wrong direction. We’ve seen events like this occur many times. 

The first thought that came to my mind after I heard the news was “another one?” This situation seems too familiar at this point. 

Gun access has allowed this issue to grow with no significant sign of reform. The only thing every shooting has in common is guns, leaving there to be only one real solution, restricting access and making it harder to obtain. 

Guns should not be as easily accessible as they are currently in the US. 

For me, this shooting set a precedent for the year to come. A recurring story flooding my news feed, a frequent topic of conversation among teachers and students alike. 

The story, however, granted the wrong reaction from communities. 

Monterey Park, east of downtown Los Angeles, is currently mourning the victims involved in the shooting with vigils and ceremonies. But that seems to be the only place to be mourning.

Events like this have too long slowly led us to desensitization. Now when you hear about an event like this, you may hear and feel pity, spouts of anger here and there, but you grow tired of the same story. 

This same thing happens all too often. Now, this tragic news feels so far from worrisome. It feels as though this happened somewhere far from home to a point that news barely affects people. 

It’s sad, yes, but too routine. We’ve heard about shootings ad nauseam this year alone. These instances used to feel like devastating anomalies, but now they feel like a sad repeat of yesterday…and the day before. 

Mass shootings seem to be a uniquely American problem. 

Access to guns is causing numbness in important situations. It has caused apathy to devastating shootings among communities far and near. There are 120 guns for every 100 Americans. United States gun culture gives easy access and opportunity for shootings. 

When events like this happen, there are always calls for stricter gun laws, yet nothing ever changes. The problems get worse and we get to a point where it’s tiresome to hear about the sheer amplified number of mass shootings in the U.S. alone. 

Even though the guns used in the Monterey Park shooting were obtained legally, this still reflects the problems with having access to and owning firearms. These arms should be harder to access and gain in the short term. 

Instances like the one in Monterey Park become harder to feel for when a situation like this arises so frequently. If we want to remain shocked by shocking situations, we have to make guns harder to access. 

As more details get released about this story, I find that I, along with many others, become more detached. The names of victims become less and less important in a devastating situation. 

This should be shocking, this loss of life near me should be shocking.

And how about this fact? There have been more mass shootings than days in 2023.

We hear about another event, we discuss the tragedy, and we repeat. Over and over, yet it’s never over.