On October 13, 2022, the Raleigh community was shaken by a mass shooting in Hedingham’s small, quiet neighborhood. 5 people are dead, and 2 people are injured according to WNCT9. Among the dead are Nicole Conners, James Thompson, Susan Karnatz, Mary Marshall, and Gabriel Torres. These people are among the 35,665 people who have died due to gun violence, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

 Some people wonder what the government will do or is doing to stop the mass shootings and gun violence we hear about daily.  We did act on gun violence in 1994 when former President Bill Clinton signed the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act. Within the decade it was a law, mass shootings and deaths from these incidents dropped. 

 Many people are proposing that we do something similar since the first ban worked so well. On March 3, 2021, The House did introduce an assault rifle ban. On August 8, 2022, it was received by the Senate. It lists over 100 assault rifles that will be banned if this does become law. 

 We’re heading in the right direction, because on June 25, 2022, President Biden signed a gun safety bill into law. This was the first major gun safety legislation signed into law in almost 30 years.  “While this bill doesn’t do everything I want, it does include actions I’ve long called for that are going to save lives,” Biden said just before signing the measure.

Please remember the victims of the Hedingham shooting, and support the families who were affected.