The US is often rocked by mass shootings of the innocent, yet this problem is persisting in the country with US lawmakers divided and inactive on the issue of gun control as usual. The recent gun violence on May 25 that killed at least 19 children and two adults in Robb Elementary School in Texas has once again sent a chilling message to the US people that something has gone very wrong with their society, and for a long time.
But contrary to expectation, the sale of guns has actually increased. Shockingly, the rate of murder in the US has jumped by nearly 30 per cent during the time of pandemic. Firearms are the number one cause of death of US children, claiming the lives of more than 1,500 below the age 18 last year.
A terrorist or not, that the person who can victimize innocent children or people without the motive of self defense is a psycho/sociopath of this there should not be any doubt, but what is troubling for us is that this problem could not be addressed effectively though the US society is plagued with gun violence for a long time.
The Second Amendment to the US Constitution gives Americans the right to bear arms. As a result, one among three US adults says that he personally owns a gun. Moreover, there are also differences in gun ownership rates by political party affiliation and other factors. For instance, 44 percent Republicans and Republican-minded independents say they personally own a gun, compared with 20 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
On debate over stricter gun control, Democrats also believe in putting in place stronger regulatory measures unlike the Republicans. Even some time ago the US President Joe Biden and other policymakers earlier this year proposed new restrictions on firearm access for containing rising murder rates as well as mass shootings.
But despite the fact that guns are deeply troubling American society–there are more guns than the US citizens at present–and the nation’s political debates are often dominated by unspeakable gun violence, it is not clear why the authorities in the US remain divided on taking drastic steps. It is surprising that even the lamentations of innumerable bereaved families, like the ones of Robb Elementary School students, has failed to move the nation to curb owning of the assault weapons that make mass murder possible within seconds.
The US Constitution not only guarantees right to bear arms but also right to life.
