In these unprecedented times, it is nearly every week that we hear of another fatal shooting, whether it be in a school, mall, or bank. On March 27, 2023, news of a shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee was announced. In the fifteen minutes that the shooter was active, six people were killed, three of which were children and three of which were adults. The names and ages of the victims were Evelyn Dieckhaus (9), Mike Hill (61), Katherine Koonce (60), Cynthia Peak (61), Hallie Scruggs (9), and William Kinney (9) (More information about the victims). Within minutes of 911 being called, the shooter was killed by police.

The 28 year old who took six lives that day was named Audrey Hale. Hale was a former student at the school, and it has been uncovered that Hale had been planning the attack for months. There has not been a clear motive uncovered, and law enforcement concluded that the victims were not intentionally targeted in the attack. Law enforcement also found that at the time, Hale was being treated for an unspecified emotional disorder. Hale had possession of seven guns that were legally purchased, and three of those guns were used during the shooting.

As for the government’s response to the event, Biden gave his condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed in the shooting. He followed this by calling Congress to pass an assault weapons ban. This is not the first time that Biden has called for this ban to be passed. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, the Nashville shooting is one of 146 mass shootings that have already occurred in the year 2023 . Despite this alarming statistic, Senate GOP leaders commented that it is still too “premature” to discuss possible legal decisions in the wake of the Nashville shooting. Even if Biden does as much as he can to pass the ban, his power only reaches so far. The most that he can do is encourage Congress to create and enforce tougher gun laws. Any strict law is unlikely to pass in Congress, as Republicans currently hold the majority in the house and Democrats barely hold the majority in the Senate. All that citizens can do at this point in time is to hope for change and speak up for what needs to be done.