There are consecutive shootings in the US – Alarm bells about gun violence

Ms. Esther Rubio – City of Uvalde, Texas, USA said: “The pictures are very beautiful, but now we can’t see those children anymore. Only closed coffins.”

Alarm bells about gun violence resounded in the US after a series of mass shootings causing mass casualties occurred in a row recently. Like a chronic disease, gun violence shows that without radical treatment, pain persists and can sting at any moment. Can the recent shooting in Texas push Americans to find a definitive solution to this disease?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), guns are the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the United States, higher than traffic accidents or any other reason. other. Among them, the cases school shooting is a constant obsession with students and families when their children go to school.

Statistics from the Washington Post show that since 1999, there have been at least 337 mass shootings at schools in the US. On average, there are 15 cases per year. This statistic excludes university shootings but the numbers are still very high when compared to other developed countries.

CNN TV channel quoted a comparison table showing the severity of America’s gun violence disease. In the past decades, Canada, France, and Germany have only had 1-2 school shootings. UK, Australia, Japan did not even appear. Mexico is home to worrisome gang violence and there have only been eight incidents in about 10 years. The US figure for the same period is 36 times that of Mexico.

The alarm bells about gun violence have sounded again in the US after a series of mass shootings that have caused massive casualties in recent times.

US President Joe Biden said: “Mass shootings like this are rare in other countries. Why can we live with this killing? When we pass a ban on weapons. mass shootings dropped. When the law lapsed, shootings tripled. Why we let it happen. It’s time for us to have the courage to stand up. act”.

Gun control in the US: will it be different this time?

Every time a mass shooting occurs, a wave of calls for stricter gun control erupt, but after that the likelihood of real progress being made is relatively limited. What is the extent of the political efforts to create change this time.

Immediately after this massacre, the majority speaker in the US Senate pushed for two new bills to establish a more thorough background check process for both gun sellers and gun buyers. US President Joe Biden also called on the country’s congressmen to join hands to promote the process of amending gun control laws. The White House said Biden is likely to issue an executive order on the matter.

Those moves have raised hopes of a change in gun control efforts in the US, because most Americans now support background checks for gun owners. The influence of the American Rifle Association is now waning, the shootings against children are increasing and this time happening in the backyard of the Republican Party, along with the participation of lawmakers. eminent scholar of both parties.

However, even MPs who are standing up to push for amendments to gun control regulations still doubt their ability to succeed, because this struggle has been going on for decades.

Americans argue over how to prevent school shootings

Efforts to tighten gun regulations have encountered many difficulties when the US 2nd Amendment stipulates that the people’s right to keep and bear weapons will not be infringed. Democrats and Republicans have opposing views. America is deeply divided over gun control, making it one of the most serious, protracted, and difficult-to-solve problems in America.

The funeral of one of the victims of the primary school shooting in Uvalde, held on May 31 – Photo: Reuters

The school is in the town of Utopia, Texas, less than an hour’s drive from Rob Elementary School where last week’s shooting took place. Warning signs are posted at the entrance to the school. The sign reads: Attention, this school is guarded by armed personnel.

Teachers at the school carry guns and are trained to be ready to shoot down school shooters, which the superintendents think is an effective precaution.

Mr. Michael Derry – Superintendent of Utopia, Texas emphasized: “If anyone intends to cause trouble here, they will balk when they know that there are armed teachers in this school. And we will do everything. what we can to protect our students.”

Ms. Sugar Bennet – Parent of Utopia School, Texas said: “Utopia School has been allowing teachers to bring guns to school for several years now and I was not comfortable with it at first. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly common. There are a lot of massacres in schools. This makes me feel more secure when teachers are armed.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) event with slogans such as protect children, not guns. Anti-gun protesters hang red-painted plaid shirts, mimicking children’s outfits when they go to school and become victims of the gunman.

US President Joe Biden (right) meets New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on May 31 for advice on dealing with gun violence – Photo: Reuters

Ms. Chelsea Jackson – Texans, USA: “I don’t want to live here anymore. I don’t dare send my children to school, I don’t dare to go to the movies or go to the supermarket to shop. When will the killing stop”.

From the East Coast to the West Coast of the United States, students organized a series of rallies to express their opposition to lax gun control regulations in many states. US media cite models of gun control in the UK and Australia, where gun violence has plummeted as the government tightens gun licensing regulations and ramps up gun buyback programs to reduce rates. possession of weapons among the population.

The average age of an American school shooter is just 16 years old. In one case, a 6-year-old boy shot and killed his classmate because of a quarrel. Or a 15-year-old girl shot and killed her boyfriend because he was rejected. At an age of madness, easily angered and unable to control their behavior, it is extremely dangerous when they are held in their hands with a deadly dangerous weapon.

The most radical way to prevent a tragedy from happening again is certainly to eliminate children’s access to guns altogether. And this requires sacrificing the freedom of the whole community, which is a difficult request in a society as high as the individual in America.

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