Guns Under Fire
~ A Blog on Gun Violence in America and the consequential need for Gun Control by Satyanidhi Mehra
The most important step taken to combat the United States escalating gun violence was passed by the US Senate. More on that in a bit, it is first imperative to paint the exact picture of the gun violence situation in the self proclaimed “God’s own country”. Exactly one month had passed since a shooting rampage in Uvalde, Texas, in which a shooter invaded an elementary school and killed 21 people, including 19 children. The largest school shooting after Sandy Hook was this murderous spree. The murderer was not immediately apprehended by law enforcement. Alarmingly, it’s very simple to purchase and carry a pistol in Texas. In the hours following the incident, USA President Joe Biden once more called for reform. Legislators once more called for reform. Politicians who support gun rights then resorted to time-tested talking points: arming teachers and creating safer schools. The killing at Uvalde occurred a few days after a racial shooting that left 10 black individuals dead in a Buffalo, New York, supermarket.
Deaths from firearms are common in American society. Between 1968 and 2017, there were 1.5 million of them, which is more than the total number of US soldiers killed in all wars since the American War for Independence in 1775.
More Americans perished by suicide or homicide with a gun in 2020 than in any other year in history — more than 45,000 in total. The statistic indicates an increase of 43% from 2010 and a 25% rise from five years ago.
The Virginia Tech shooting was a shooting spree that involved two attacks on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, on April 16, 2007. Seung-Hui Cho, a South Korean-born undergraduate student at the university who now resides in the United States, used two semi-automatic pistols to kill 32 people and injuring 17 more. Jumping out of windows to get away from Cho, six more people were hurt.
A mass shooting took place at the American Civic Association immigration facility on April 3, 2009. Jiverly Antares Wong, a naturalised American citizen from Vietnam, 41, entered the building at around 10:30 a.m. EDT and opened fire on many of the occupants. Wong enrolled there in English language studies in January 2009 and continued till March 2009. Before committing himself, Wong had murdered thirteen individuals and injured four more.
A large-scale shooting occurred on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, which is close to Killeen, Texas. Major Nidal Hasan, a psychiatrist and member of the United States Army, shot and killed 13 people while injuring over 30 others. It was the deadliest mass shooting ever to occur on a US military installation. Hasan was shot, leaving him paraplegic below the waist. On July 20, 2011, Hasan was charged by a military court with 13 charges of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder in accordance with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Assailants using a variety of weapons carried out both the Columbine High School massacre and the shooting at the Aurora theatre. Despite statistics showing that handguns are the most frequently used weapon type in mass shootings, the AR-15 model rifle has been utilised in some of the deadliest mass shooting instances and has come to be popularly regarded as the weapon of choice for mass shooters.
According to a study that compares gun deaths in the United States to those in other high-income nations in Europe and Asia, the country’s homicide rate among teenagers and young adults is 49 times higher. The suicide rate with a firearm is eight times greater. Of all the nations in the comparison, the United States has the most firearms. In 2015, states with the most guns had a 6.8 times higher rate of firearm assaults than those with the fewest. According to more than a dozen studies, having a gun at home doubled your risk of death compared to not having one.
Data reveals that murder rates rise in areas where firearms stores or dealers start operating. Only a few studies demonstrate the complete reverse of what pro-gun politicians claim. Science cannot be disregarded. Gun control and US healthcare reforms are the main topics of the bipartisan measure taken by the senate. Additionally, the bill will provide money for educational institutions to improve school safety and increase their mental health services.
These regulations, along with red flag laws, those preventing domestic abusers and alcohol abusers from possessing firearms, and others, would reduce the prevalence of gun violence in the country. However, doing so would need elected politicians to sever their ties to the gun industry. While there are numerous concerns to take into account when casting a ballot, I feel that voters in this midterm election year could make significant progress on gun violence prevention. Surveys consistently reveal that Americans strongly support gun control laws.
The law aims to establish thorough background checks for gun purchasers, particularly for children. According to the policy, if a firearm is being transferred to a person under the age of 21, the system is required to get in touch with the juvenile justice information system or criminal history repository, the state custodian of mental health adjudication records, and the local law enforcement agency of the person’s home state. The bill states that by doing this, authorities will be able to find out within three days of the licensee applying for a licence whether the person has a record that would disqualify them.
Families whose lives will never be the same due to gun violence oppose all of this. Who is left to mourn the children and adults killed in domestic violence, the unintentional deaths, and the mass shootings that happen so frequently that we are still in mourning when the next one happens?
It’s critical to view firearms as the deadly instruments that they are. And treat them with the respect that demands they be more difficult to obtain and riskier to utilise.
States have a duty to safeguard life and maintain security for all through human rights-compliant law enforcement, community initiatives, and tighter limitations on gun possession and use where patterns of firearm possession and usage result in chronic insecurity. Initiatives should concentrate on young boys growing up in impoverished urban districts, who are frequently the perpetrators and victims of gun violence.
Gun violence, one of the biggest problems the world is currently experiencing, is when violence is done using a firearm. Violence can be committed on purpose or by mistake. Whatever the motivation behind the act, it puts in jeopardy a fundamental human right: the right to life. Gun control refers to the implementation of legislation by governments that restrict civilian access to guns. Gun violence affects not only the victim but also the people in his/her life, making it more than just a social problem.
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