Lax Gun Control Laws Are Padding Politicians' Pockets While Endangering Black Communities

As Black Americans continue to be more vulnerable to gun violence, some U.S. politicians remain unphased.

As many were still reeling over the hate crime mass shooting on May 15 in Buffalo, NY, that claimed the lives of ten Black Buffalo residents, tragedy hit again when an 18-year-old opened fire and killed 19 elementary students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School last Tuesday. As many Americans continue to grieve these senseless and horrific acts of disgusting violence, many are pushing even harder for answers — and more importantly — solutions to address the rampant gun violence that plagues the U.S. This call to action has sparked yet another heated debate over control that has taken a sharp partisan turn, with Democrats calling for stricter gun laws and Republicans digging their heels to keep things more or less the same. Many Republican senators refuse to support common-sense gun reform, like expanding Brady Background Checks and banning assault weapons.

But the truth is: gun reform is about much more than reserving the right to engage in lively duck hunts with the fellas and more about significant financial contributions that certain politicians receive from the NRA. Meanwhile, the U.S. leads the way in staggeringly high rates of school shootings compared to other counties, and Black and Brown impoverished communities, which are more venerable to the threat of gun violence, continue to pay the price for loosey-goosey gun laws every day. Although most Americans support stricter gun laws, the debate over strong gun laws has been unrelating. Partisanship aside, most people agree that if a person is not old enough to purchase and consume alcohol legally, they more than likely are not psychologically or emotionally mature enough to buy and own an assault rifle. Yet, both Peyton S. Gendron and Salvador Ramos, who were only 18-years old, could purchase the same assault rifles that were used to carry out heinous and deadly acts of violence. But lax gun laws also impact Black Americans disproportionately compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

In fact, Blacks experience ten times the number of gun homicides, 18 times the number of gun assault…