Gun violence is an epidemic in the United States. Already this year, families are grieving after mass shootings at a school, the workplace and a birthday celebration. 

A sweet sixteen birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama was the latest target of a mass shooting.  

On Saturday night, four young people were killed and 32 others were injured at a dance studio.  According to one hospital, at least 15 teenagers were treated for gunshot wounds. 

There have been at least 160 mass shootings this year according to Gun Violence Archive, a not-for-profit corporation, which tracks gun violence in the U.S.  It defines a mass shooting as four or more people shot or killed. 

The U.S. Congress has rejected banning assault weapons or high capacity magazines because of ideological differences based on the 2nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which gives citizens the right to bear arms. 

According to Open Secrets, an independent organization, lobbying groups spent more than 8 million dollars in 2022 to promote gun rights. 

The National Rifle Association, considered the most influential firearm group in the country, held its annual convention over the weekend.  

Former President Donald Trump who is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election told the audience mass shootings are not a gun problem. 

Joining the discussion:

• Bill Crane is a political commentator and columnist.  
• Benjamin Dowd-Arrow is the Director of the Bachelors in Public Health Program at Florida State University. 
• Angela Stroud is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Justice at Northland College in Wisconsin, and the author of “Good Guys with Guns: The Appeal and Consequences of Concealed Carry.” 
• Robert Patillo is a Civil Rights Attorney and Talk Radio Host.

Last night, I had a chance to call Ralph Yarl and his family.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell. We've got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

And Ralph, we'll see you in the Oval once you feel better. pic.twitter.com/mPXiM1X6nK

— President Biden (@POTUS) April 18, 2023

The Dadeville, Alabama, shooting has devastated a city where “everybody knows everybody,” Ben Hayes, chaplain of Dadeville High School’s football team, told CNN.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far. https://t.co/Vx3OEUpoCi

— CNN (@CNN) April 17, 2023

BREAKING: The 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly went to the wrong Missouri home, turns himself in to authorities. https://t.co/i0qxI24TlL

— The Associated Press (@AP) April 18, 2023