Yesterday, six people — including three children — were killed in a school shooting in Nashville, Tennesse.
It is the 130th mass shooting in the United States so far in 2023, as the third month of the year comes to a close. It left multiple elementary school students, staff members, and teachers dead, and marked yet another occasion in which our most powerful politicians ignore pleas to protect the children of this nation. It was a tragedy that could have been avoided if we’d learned from any number of horrific lessons taught over the years, as gun violence continues to be one of America’s most consistent and damaging national habits.
In response to reports that the latest in a long line of mass shooters is a trans woman, actor and perpetual migraine-triggerer Kevin Sorbo revealed that his math skills are almost on-par with his acting abilities. The deeply unremarkable actor (Karl Urban was more memorable in Xena: Warrior Princess) shared a meme, of all things, in response to the Covenant school shooting, making a point that was immediately slapped down by people with actual brains in their skulls.
Sorbo attempted to own the libs with a meme noting that, of literally hundreds of mass shooters in the history of this blood-soaked nation, four identified as non-binary or trans. We’re no mathematicians here (we went into journalism for a reason) but we still know enough to realize Sorbo is not making the point he thinks he is. In fact, he’s really just driving home the fact that a full 98% of mass shooters are male (and 99.89% are cis/straight), a detail people were quick to point out.
Countless people noted that, across literally every mass shooting in the history of the world, there is one (and only one) common denominator: guns. Without guns, there could be no mass shootings, but the decision-makers in America just can’t seem to wrap their brains around the concept. Neither can Sorbo, it seems, but we’re less concerned with his impact on the safety of America’s youth.
Some people additionally pointed to the list of apparently “Christian” serial killers and worked to use Sorbo’s logic against him. Four mass shooters, in the history of the nation, have come from the LGBTQ+ community, but far more have come from the house of God. Did those people just need more religion in their lives?
Responses to Sorbo’s tweet are almost universally negative, as people blast the actor for ignoring a legacy of gun violence in an attempt to shape the narrative. As it turns out, it would take years, and hundreds of trans, non-binary, and gay mass shooters, to come close to equalling the history of bloodshed established by (largely white) cis men.
Pointing fingers isn’t getting us anywhere, however. Our nation and, it seems, in particular, our children, will continue to bleed for so-called “freedom” until real, meaningful gun control is passed in this country. Until that happens — something that only seems possible once the likes of Mitch McConnell and Marjorie Taylor Greene are far from influence — gun violence will continue as the leading cause of death of American children.
