The United States “endures the most mass shootings in the world,” according to data gathered by World Population Review. The outlet looked at the number of mass shooting instances country by country between 2000-2014. There were 133 in the U.S. The country with the second most was Germany, at 6.
This makes 2022’s number of mass shootings all the more staggering: 214 have occurred in 2022 in the U.S. alone. The Uvalde school shooting which resulted in 21 casualties, 19 of them children, has Americans especially distraught.
The uptick in mass shootings has also manifested in a form of second-hand trauma where folks don’t feel secure in public places, as evidenced in this now-viral TikTok uploaded by @iantonio1015.
@iantonio1015 It’s been 10 years since the unfortunate event and I’m still mapping out exit strategies wherever I go #auroracolorado #movietheater #topgunmaverick #cinemark ♬ original sound –
Antonio asks, “Am I the only one who pays more attention to the other people in a movie theater because of what happened in Aurora, Colorado.”
The TikToker is referring to the Aurora Colorado shooting that occurred in 2012 during a July 20 screening of The Dark Knight Rises, killing 12.
Antonio shares that the shooting has caused him to mentally prepare for different “contingency plans” whenever he goes to see a movie.
There were several commenters who responded to Antonio’s TikTok video who said that they too were frightened to watch certain movies in theaters.
One user said, “i was horribly afraid while watching the Batman.”
Another shared, “I NEVER sit in the middle of a theatre – always near an exit and if someone gets up during the movie, my eyes are GLUED to them.”
A third said, “The sad part about living in America is you just never know when or where.”
Other commenters said that they have this same mentality no matter where they are.
One commenter said, “my bf didn’t understand why i couldn’t relax the whole time.. i am so anxious being in public lately bc of these events.”
Another said, “This. And also at festivals or concerts or grocery shopping. All of us in America are living with PTSD tbh.”
A third said, “this comment section made me realize I should start watching people and plan exit strategies. unfortunately, I’m naive and it’s never crossed my mind.”
Vice President Kamala Harris has called for an assault weapons ban in the United States in the wake of the Uvalde shooting. Similar bans have been voted on in the past as a response to similar acts of violence, yet they’ve never passed, both when Republicans and Democrats held the Senate majority.
So what exactly is an “Assault Rifle?” Contrary to popular belief, it’s not a fully automatic weapon. It is illegal to sell, buy, and/or own a fully automatic weapon as a private citizen of the United States unless it was registered prior to 1978.
According to Brittanica, the definition of an “Assault Rifle” denotes a weapon that has the ability to transition between semi-automatic and automatic fire. The difference between semi-automatic and automatic is significant. With semi-automatic operation, only one bullet will be fired per trigger squeeze. However, the weapon’s cartridge is designed in such a way that shells are automatically fed into the gun’s chamber. With fully automatic fire, bullets will continually discharge from the chamber as long as the trigger is held down.
While many people assume AR literally stands for ‘assault rifle’, an AR-15 is an Armalite Rifle named after the company that created this specific model.
On September 13, 1994, President Bill Clinton signed a law placing a ban on “semi-automatic firearms that were defined as assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines. This law included the AR-15 rifle. A 2019 study looked at mass shooting data between 1994 and 2004 and found that these specific types of attacks were 70% less likely to occur.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Antonio via TikTok comment for further comment.
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