On Monday, Oct. 2, millions woke up to devastating news. A man terrorized a country music festival in Las Vegas making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Fifty nine people are dead and at least 500 wounded.

Three of the previous most deadly American mass shootings include the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech, all in this century. It is unsettling how, although these tragic events occurred so closely after one another, a transparent call for action from Congress remains unmet.

In wake of the Las Vegas attack, President Donald Trump suffered backlash for a decision he made in February which increases difficulty in prohibiting the sale of guns to individuals with mental illness. He refused to speak on the issue since visiting Las Vegas on Wednesday, Oct. 4. This is, unfortunately, how the U.S. government dealt with past mass shootings as well — refusing to immediately create a viable change in the long-established gun laws, simply because they were based on the Constitution — written more than 200 years ago.

CNN reported that gun-related suicides are eight times higher in the U.S. than in other high-income countries such as Canada: this is inevitably connected to how uncomplicated it is to purchase guns in the U.S. According to The Atlantic, Australia has implemented fundamentally stricter gun control laws — including a 28-day waiting period to obtain a firearm — as a result of its previous mass shootings. Since the Port Arthur massacre, the Australian government has seen a 74 percent decrease in gun-involved suicides and a sharp decline in homicides related to guns.

Though the Las Vegas perpetrator, Stephen Paddock, had no criminal record or history of mental illness, as reported by USA Today, one must consider the ramifications of Nevada’s lenient gun control laws.  It was reported that Paddock passed the government-mandated background checks to purchase his guns, some of which were semi-automatic rifles modified to act as machine guns. In fact, according to Nevada Carry’s website, it is legal in Nevada to purchase and openly carry certain firearms without obtaining a permit.

This kind of accessibility is a contributing factor to violence often seen in the U.S. Adding a psychological evaluation to background checks for all gun buyers would make it less likely for emotionally unstable individuals to senselessly endanger the lives of other people.

Some within the CSUSM community witnessed this unimaginably traumatic occurrence and many know someone who has been personally affected. In an act of solidarity, CSUSM President Karen Haynes offered her condolences on Wednesday. She also provided various campus resources and numbers to call for anyone in need.

Students may contact SOAR at (760)-750-SOAR or Student Health and Counseling Services at (760)-750-4915. Faculty can call the Office of Faculty Affairs at (760)-750-8362.