by Lora-Ellen McKinney, Ph.D.

On May 14, 2022, 10 people went grocery shopping in Buffalo, New York. They were murdered and yet more were injured by an 18-year-old white supremacist who drove four hours to a Black neighborhood with a legally purchased AR-15 automatic weapon. Less than a week later, 19 elementary school children were killed in Uvalde, Texas, targeted by an 18-year-old from their community in possession of legally acquired AR-15 rifles. Less than a week later, over the Memorial Day weekend, there were 17 mass shootings. As I write, police are managing the aftermath of a shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma.