Indian Americans distraught over absence of sensible gun laws in the US
In Sugarland, Texas, some 270 miles away from the city of Uvalde, where a hair-raising incident of school shooting left 21 dead on May 24, the mood is somber.
Ketan Shah who is raising his three kids has been glued to the TV listening to horrible news playing across the channels. His wife has been busy answering phone calls from concerned relatives back in India who have been asking if the kids and schools in the US are really safe.
“It’s mind-numbing,” he says. “For any parent, it is the worst nightmare. Add to it the fact that we have to also justify and reason if it is worth living in America, where gun violence is rampant. I honestly do not know what to say, except that I am hurting with all those parents who lost their kids today.”
Read: Indian American teacher’s quick thinking may have saved many lives in Florida school shooting (February 19, 2018)
Just like many other cities in the US, Sugarland too is home to a large number of immigrant communities that have made America their home.
However, when devastating incidents like the one in Robb Elementary School come up, it is once again time for immigrants to question the absence of reasoning and logic behind such gruesome acts and the inability of the state to control the situation.
The Robb Elementary School shooting remained a gnawing topic for most and especially those with school-going children in the country.
Amidst the horror of what has unfolded yet again, many Indians living in the US find themselves in tight spots as friends and relatives back in India call up to ask about the safety of kids in America.
Read: Indian Foreign Secretary Jaishankar says Kansas shooting is an individual act, American society is against it (March 5, 2017)
Most Indians in the US are employed in professional jobs and they maintain that their first priority remains safe and good schooling for their kids but during such incidents they can’t help but feel defeated.
In between all this news, many also question the states’ inability to control a situation that is clearly America’s biggest pain point.
Sid Prakash, a Dallas resident says, “Living here for a decade, I now know there are many layers to bringing gun laws to the US. However, the free access to automatic weapons is mind-boggling. People can use single manual loading guns if they want to reason about personal safety.”
Read: Shooting at Elementary School Devastates Community in South Texas (May 24, 2022)
Mahesh Sharma says, “The biggest tragedy remains that nothing may change even after this. Tell me a sadder reality that this?”
However for a vast majority of those sending their kids to public schools in America, the biggest concern remains why the state can’t depute armed national guards in schools to offset situations such as these.
Shivani Kumari says, “Even one armed guard will be some protection for unsuspecting kids. If America can’t do this for the kids then well it has failed us badly.”