Important Policies Needed Right Now In the Wake of Recent Mass Shootings

1. Whenever there is a racist anti-immigrant terror attack, US immigration law should be automatically updated to welcome even more immigrants to the United States. Just like the lynchings in the South, these terror attacks are designed to scare minorities and get them to leave. We must update our laws each time to increase the yearly numerical immigration limits ensuring that these terrorists do not achieve their terror goals.
2. Similar to our 9/11 response, US law enforcement must have the power to isolate, and, when most needed, detain, the people most likely to commit these attacks. We can tell a lot from social media profile data, online activity, and first-hand reports from people in their community. There are patterns to these shooters, and we have the data to find who is most prone to becoming a lone shooter. Civil liberties experts should be consulted on the best way to protect privacy and limit prejudiced profiling, but we must have the ability to act preventatively.
3. The way the US has a cyber war force to attack countries such as North Korea, the US military must remove sites such as 8chan, which provide platforms that help radicalize domestic terrorists. We would do the same for Al Qaeda or ISIS forums in a heartbeat. The type of speech on these forums is not protected by the First Amendment because of the danger it poses to human life.
4. There is research indicating that these shootings are contagious, so news outlets need to think a lot more carefully about how they publicize and cover these shootings. Seeing the world burn is a goal of these terrorists, and I do not think we should give these terrorists what they want. The freedom of the press must of course be respected and protected, but news organizations need to show more restraint in publicizing these attacks because that is what the terrorists want. This kind of coverage may perversely increase the likelihood of another attack.

The attacks over the recent few years are some of the worst in American history and are actually comparable to the attacks seen in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.

Like many people, I am very upset by these shootings. My heart and prayers are with the victims and their families. We cannot undo what has happened, but we can work to make sure these kinds of shootings become a thing of the past.

August 7, 2019

George John Jordan Thomas Aquinas Hayward, Optimist