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Why is America unable to halt this epidemic of deadly gun violence?
islander:
Why is America unable to halt this epidemic of deadly gun violence?
It was the 18th incident of gun violence at a US school in 2018
Andrew Buncombe
New York
February 16, 2018
Barack Obama used to say it was the part of the job he hated the most – speaking in the aftermath of mass shootings and trying somehow to act as consoler-in-chief.
He had plenty of practice – Orlando, Kalamazoo, San Bernardino, Charleston and Aurora. He spoke after each, and wondered aloud why the US had succumbed to a pattern of mass shootings “that has no parallel anywhere else in the world”.
Perhaps the toughest speech he had to deliver was in December 2012, when 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Four years later, appearing in the Oval Office with some of the parents of those youngsters who lives were stolen, and appealing for support for gun control measures, he wiped tears from his eyes. “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” he said.
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islander:
School shootings are all too common in a country unable to pass gun legislation (Getty)
Six years later – a period in which at least 400 people have been shot in more than 200 school shootings, and in which 590 individuals died in 346 mass shootings in 2017 alone – another US president is making another speech after yet another mass fatality incident takes its turn to dominate the headlines for a day or two.
Donald Trump called on Americans to “answer hate with love, answer cruelty with kindness” and said he would work to find ways to tackle the problem of mental health. He did not name the suspect, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, or mention the word guns. He certainly did not mention the AR-15 semi-assault profile – the so-called “civilian version” of the fully automatic M-16 model used by the military.
Gun control campaigners say it is bewildering that after so many incidents of gun violence, politicians remain seemingly unwilling to act to control guns, especially when the American public supports regulation.
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islander:
A poll by Quinnipiac University last November, found 94 per cent of Americans believe there should be background checks for all gun purchases, 79 per cent believe there should be a mandatory waiting period for purchases, 64 per cent support banning assault-style weapons and 64 per cent support banning the sale of magazines that carry more than 10 rounds. Tellingly, 63 per cent said it was possible to make new gun laws without interfering with gun rights as afforded by the US Constitution.
“You cannot find an issue on which there is more agreement,” Kristin Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, told The Independent.
“The trouble is, we have a stalemate in congress. Too many lawmakers get their funding from the NRA (National Rifle Association) and they block changes that would help stop this. Instead, they tweet about praying for the families.”
She added: “Everyone approves of greater gun regulation. The only people who don’t want this are the people who want to sell more guns.”
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islander:
Ms Brown said the NRA, which was founded in 1871 as a recreational group designed to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis”, today got most of its funding from gun manufacturers.
Its role as a lobbying group took off after 1977 when it formed its own Political Action Committee (PAC), to channel funds to legislators at state and local level. It even issues a rating to politicians, scoring them on how supportive they are of NRA policies.
Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader in the Senate who received $1.3m (£920,000) up to 2016 from the NRA, currently has an “A+”. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan, who received $171,977 in 2016 also has an “A+”. Senator Jeff Sessions, who is now the Attorney General, has an A.
By contrast, the NRA has scored Democratic senators Chuck Schumer of New York and Florida’s Bill Nelson both with an “F”.
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islander:
On Wednesday, Bess Kalb, a writer for Jimmy Kimmel Live, drew attention to the NRA’s influence by responding to legislators tweeting message of condolence, by listing how much money they have received from the organisation.
Today, it is estimated that the NRA spends about $250m per year, far more than all the country’s gun control advocacy groups put together. In 2016, it endorsed Mr Trump’s presidential run and provided his campaign with up to $30m. Shortly after he took office, Mr Trump attended the NRA’s national convention in Atlanta.
“Only one candidate in the general election came to speak to you, and that candidate is now the president of the United States, standing before you,” he said. “You came through for me, and I am going to come through for you.”
Since then, Mr Trump has been a vocal supporter of gun rights. He supports a Republican bill pending before the Senate that the NRA considers its legislative priority and which would establish a nationwide right to carry a concealed weapon – even in those states and cities opposed to such laws.
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