Roxane Gay, writing in the NY Times about the rampant killings of people for simple arguments, disagreements or misunderstandings:

There is no patience for simple mistakes or room for addressing how bigotry colors even the most innocuous interactions. There is no regard for due process. People who deem themselves judge, jury and executioner walk among us, and we have no real way of knowing when they will turn on us.

The United States currently possesses the highest number of guns in circulation worldwide, estimated at 466 million, while its population stands at 334.4 million people as of 2023. This equates to nearly 1.4 guns for every person in the United States. Given these figures, it is worth questioning whether the rise in gun-related deaths should come as a surprise.

Firmin Debrabander wrote an opinion piece in the New York Times regarding freedom in an armed society:

Arendt offers two points that are salient to our thinking about guns: for one, they insert a hierarchy of some kind, but fundamental nonetheless, and thereby undermine equality. But furthermore, guns pose a monumental challenge to freedom, and particular, the liberty that is the hallmark of any democracy worthy of the name — that is, freedom of speech. Guns do communicate, after all, but in a way that is contrary to free speech aspirations: for, guns chasten speech.

This becomes clear if only you pry a little more deeply into the N.R.A.’s logic behind an armed society. An armed society is polite, by their thinking, precisely because guns would compel everyone to tamp down eccentric behavior, and refrain from actions that might seem threatening. The suggestion is that guns liberally interspersed throughout society would cause us all to walk gingerly — not make any sudden, unexpected moves — and watch what we say, how we act, whom we might offend.

This is precisely the situation we are witnessing: a society that is fearful, paranoid, and gripped by anxiety. In order to safeguard the well-being of our children and preserve our democratic values, America needs stop worshipping our great Gun god.