Current Events

Mass shootings, as horrific as they are, will always be reported in the news. Due to these events, it has sparked an outrage and many are looking into solutions. As you can see from this chart, suicides make up the majority of deaths due to guns. These deaths tend to low profile and the news barely report gun suicide deaths unless the victim is famous.   " In 2017, six-in-ten gun-related deaths in the U.S. were suicides (23,854), while 37% were murders (14,542), according to the CDC. The remainder were unintentional (486), involved law enforcement (553) or had undetermined circumstances (338)" (Gramlich). What about mass shootings? How significant are the numbers in comparison to suicide and murder rates? The statistics for mass shootings is a bit hard to measure due to differing definitions of what is considered a mass shooting, but the number is quite low. In 2019 alone, there have been 19 mass shootings with a approximate total of 120. In 2018 there has been 385

image Prisons, public and private, fail to keep up with the growing populations in their prison and turn to the use of privately owned companies to help facilitate certain service like transportation , food, clothes, toiletries, medical, and communications. These privatize companies tend to overcharge or cut comers to maximize their profits. "The prison phone system is now a $1.2 billion-a-year industry dominated by a few private companies that manage phones in prisons and jails in all 50 states, (Williams)." With the absurd prices and fees, private companies like Securus Technologies, make huge profits off families wanting to connect to their loved ones in confinement. Phone companies would pay concession fines to get exclusive contracts to local and state prisons. The competition for these exclusive contracts are fierce These private phone companies would charge more than their commercial counterparts, costing families $15-25 for a 15 minute call. The proble