Based on the recent last two mass-shooting attacks, a lot of condolences were issued; a lot of articles discussing the pros and cons of prohibition of firearms were written; American society showed empathy towards more gun controls, but then …
A Never-Ending Story: Just Another Couple of Mass Shootings in the U.S.
… time goes by; people forget about the attacks; nothing changes… until next mass shooting…after a new attack… again lots of condolences… lots of written articles… then people forget again…until next mass shooting, and the cycle repeat itself… again and again.
It is a vicious circle. Once again, a couple of sick or unadapted males (it’s always males, isn’t it?) took a total of 18 lives in two separate mass shootings in Boulder (Colorado), and Atlanta (Georgia).
As usual, public opinion after the shootings, asked for some additional degree of control over the process of buying a firearm in the U.S.
Defenders of the right to posses guns in the U.S, try to make it an inmutable right, arguing that we are talking about a sacred Constitutional right, included by the ‘Founding Fathers’ in the original Constitution, and later confirmed by the Second Amedment to the Constitution (1791), to ensure the liberty of the U.S. citizens, and their capacity to defend that liberty against any form of tyranny.
I’m sure, the whole thing made a lot of sense in 1791, when the paragraph was included in the Constitution, but really is an absurdity today, don’t you think so?.
To start with, militias are illegal and prohibited in mosts States of the U.S.A. Also, the United States maintain permanently a profesional army, thus rendering unnecessary to resort to militias of any kind.
Members of the Republican party, such as Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, have criticized the renewed push for gun controls, saying that they believe additional gun-purchasing controls do not help lessen crime.
Indeed, given the abundance of illegal arms in the U.S.A.,(according to Wikipedia, there are 393 million of registered arms in the country. (Nobody knows for sure, the number of illegal arms out there). It is suspected that imposing stricter requirementes to purchase arms legally, would only drive potential shooters to illegal sellers.
Besides, potential shooters wanting to cause damage, do not really need to buy a gun if they are planning an attack, given the abundance of firearms in the U.S., they would only have to “borrow” the gun from a friend or relative, so stricter sale measures won’t help.
However, most mass-shooting attacks, including the ones at Boulder and Atlanta, were committed ulizing some form of assault rifle (rifles AR-5, AK47, being the two most popular) or automatic weapon.
This year, as of March 31, according to Wikipedia, “126 mass shootings fit the Mass Shooting Tracker project criterion, leaving 148 people dead and 481 injured, for a total of 629 total victims, some including the shooter(s)”.
I think the Biden’s Government must implement urgent & somehow dramatic measures. He could issue, for instance, a federal decree establishing that all guns considered ‘war armament’ should be of the exclusive use of the U.S. army, making it illegal to posess any automatic weapon, bazooka (OMG!), or assault rifle. He should also arrange an ‘arm purchasing plan’, by which the federal government would buy any automatic weapon , bazooka, or assault rifle in private hands. After the plan is over, posession of an automatic weapon, bazooka, or rifles AK47, AR-5, etc., would be illegal in the U.S., giving an amnesty period of, say, two years, for those firearm owners who purchased their gun legally, to regularize their situation.
Frankly, I ignore whether Biden holds enough legal power to inforce a measure like the one just described above. If not, he decisively should organize and launch a plebiscite, asking the citizens for their opinion.
But something concrete must be done, to prove that democratic Governments do solve society problems. Otherwise, people will continue looking for alternative, non-democratic Government solutions, of which Trump just tried to give us a sample.
