The average mass shooting lasts 19 minutes.
But the victims and their families’ suffering lasts much longer than those 19 minutes — they will be dealing with the trauma of this horrific event for a lifetime.
According to the nationally acclaimed Gun Violence Archive (GVA), a mass shooting is defined as an event where four or more individuals, not including perpetrators, are shot and/or killed.
As of November 11th, 408 mass shootings have been reported in the United States this year. In these 408 shootings, 950 children and teenagers have been killed, as reported by the GVA. Yet, altogether these shootings only make up about one percent of all gun related deaths. As of June 2026, non-self inflicted gun related deaths in the US amounted to 5,821, with the number increasing daily.
After every tragedy, news outlets rush to cover the story — how many victims, who was the perpetrator, what is the status of the investigation and more. And as the story spreads, the public becomes incredibly invested in the suffering of those impacted.
Politicians across the nation send their “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and their families and social media is overwhelmed with people reposting information and calling for change.
However, when a few days pass, society seems to move on. Of course, there are always those working to end gun violence and pass stricter laws; but the rest of us get to simply acknowledge the tragedy and get on with our lives.
Those 950 victims and their families will never forget. Survivors will live with the painful memories and those killed will never have the chance to experience life to the fullest. And yet, we just move on.
As college students, we aspire to do great things with our lives — be doctors, lawyers, accountants, politicians and so much more. We have hopes of success and making the world a better place.
And those 950 children did too. While they can’t live out their dreams, we can honor their memories by pushing for change.
It is becoming clearly apparent that the current restrictions of firearms in the nation are not enough to prevent these tragedies from occurring time and time again.
Some claim that additional gun laws will strip them of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. They also claim that mass shootings are not the fault of the gun but the fault of the owner. But it’s important to note that these additional restrictions don’t aim to remove access to firearms, but to simply limit those who are able to acquire them, with the goal of preventing individuals’ from causing harm to others.
While federal law requires background checks for the purchase of firearms, private sales are significantly less regulated — allowing those who cannot legally possess guns to acquire them. Although semiautomatic assault rifles — a commonly used weapon in mass shootings — used to be banned, the restrictions have expired as of 2004.
Several states, including New York, have taken great strides in restricting the usage and purchase of firearms. But without national standards, it becomes all too possible for people to get around the existing regulations.
Instead of simply accepting that there are flaws in the governmental policies, action can be taken to prevent these tragedies from recurring.
From a legal standpoint, contacting legislators, joining advocacy groups and voting are all ways college students can contribute to making the nation a safer place.
However, there are much simpler ways to begin to make change — educating yourself on current events and legal regulations and not allowing these all too frequently occurring catastrophes to escape your mind.
It is incredibly unrealistic to expect that when laws change, mass shootings will completely cease to exist. Nonetheless, progress can always be made. And the second we accept that this is normal and it will never improve is the second we have failed as a society. While the 950 children, whose lives ended all too soon, cannot advocate for change, we can.
And it starts with remembering that these tragedies do not end after those 19 minutes.
It too should affect us for a lifetime.
The opinions desk can be reached at opinions@ubspectrum.com.
