Crime & Safety

Are You Numb to Gun Violence?

Some local lawmakers say we're desensitized thanks to the number and frequency of mass shootings in American society. What do you think?

Thirteen dead in Monday’s Navy Yard shooting.

Twenty-seven slain, including 20 children, in Newtown, Conn., after a lone gunman terrorized an elementary school campus.


Twelve dead in a movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo.

The number of mass shootings in recent American history is so long, in fact, CNN put together a list of the 20 deadliest attacks.

In the wake of Monday’s shooting in Washington, Tampa Tribune writer Joe Henderson made an interesting – and disturbing – observation: “This is the world we have, now.”

Henderson suspects many people have become resigned to headlines of horror and he’s not alone in that thinking.

“I’m afraid the American public is numb to gun violence in this country,” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, told Henderson. “We’re desensitized to it because of the number of mass shootings.”

Have Americans accepted gun violence as the norm? Tell us what you think by commenting below!


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