We all heard about the shooting at Irving Plaza at the T.I. concert on May 25th, and we all thought, I hope this never happens again. June 10th rolls around, and Twitter is full of worried and supportive hashtags about Christina Grimmie, such as #PrayForChristina. Orlando ended up being as dangerous as the unsafe venue in NYC. Could this turn into a pattern? Safe spaces created only to show passion for music and to have one night away from everything else are becoming a place to worry that someone in the crowd has a gun and bad intentions.
We buy concert tickets not just for the show–we desire the incomparable experience, the hyped-up feeling, and the unforgettable moments. If concert safety and gun laws remain this weak, will concerts still hold such a tender spot in our hearts? Will we be able to feel the same carefree way we used to? Will parents feel the same unanxious way when their kid goes to a concert with friends? Parents are supposed to be worried that their kid might have their concert experience ruined because maybe a group of drunks won’t shut up or their seats end up being the worst in the house, not because they have the possibility of being killed. One major source of the issue to blame are gun laws. How many times do innocent teenagers need to fear for their lives, because malicious monsters easily got their hands on a gun, for everyone to realize there’s a problem? School shootings, mall shootings, concert shootings? What’s the problem? Is the school the problem? Is the mall the problem? Is the concert the problem? Well, the keyword is shootings. Guns are the consistent problem. Guns have been the problem, but some people just keep waiting for more tragedies to occur before they’re fully convinced.
While guns are the main issue, are concert venues free of any blame? I mean, our bags are checked…and sometimes we walk through or are scanned with a metal detector…is that enough? Are small venues doing everything they can without any metal detectors? I’ve been to enough concerts in small venues to say that I was surprised nothing went wrong. Checking bags will never be enough to ensure that no one has a gun hidden in their coat, shirt, or pants. Just because a venue is small doesn’t mean the possibility of a shooting is nonexistent. You can tell the priorities aren’t straight when outside food and drinks are always removed from bags but security doesn’t try their best to make sure guns don’t make their way in. So, yes, gun laws are a ridiculously large portion of the problem, but concert venues need to step up their game if they want everyone to feel safe.
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