In yet another incident of mass shooting, a US Army reservist fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar in Maine, in the worst mass killing in state history.
Robert Card remained at large on the second day of the shooting as police continue the searches while fearful Maine residents kept to their homes. The Americans remained in shock over the horrific incident while President Joe Biden mourned “yet another senseless and tragic mass shooting.”
Joe Biden added that the gun violence that plagues the United States “is not normal, and we cannot accept it,” urging lawmakers to pass a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Why are Mass Shootings Common in the US?
Mass shootings are alarmingly common in the United States, a country with more guns than people, and attempts to clamp down on their spread are always met with stiff resistance.
The country has recorded at least 565 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nongovernmental organization that defines a mass shooting as four or more people wounded or killed. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and young adults in the United States.
Efforts to tighten gun controls routinely run up against opposition from Republicans, staunch defenders of the constitutional right to bear arms. The political paralysis endures despite widespread outrage over recurring shootings.
Gun Laws in the US
The debate over gun laws in the US has been raging for years and has reignited after high-profile mass shootings in the past few years.
The gun ownership law in the US is rooted in the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which states, “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
As a result, all kinds of guns, especially high-powered assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols are cheaper and more widely available than ever across the United States.
Despite frequent mass shootings, Congress has been unable to pass meaningful gun legislation in the wake of these tragedies despite broad public support for new restrictions.
Many gun control advocates say the United States should look to the experiences of wealthy democratic peers who have instituted tighter restrictions to curb gun violence.
Few Facts About Guns in the US
Here are some key facts about the gun laws in the US:
- Around a third of US adults say they personally own a gun while four in ten US adults say they live in a household with a gun, according to Pew research.
- Half of the 50 US states allow carrying concealed firearms in public places while the other 25 allow it in some form.
- Only a dozen of the 50 states in the United States require purchase permits for handguns. Only 3 of those states— California, Connecticut and Hawaii — require permits for the purchase of rifles and shotguns.
- Republicans and Republican-leaning independents are more than twice as likely as Democrats and Democratic supporters to say they personally own a gun, the report added.
- 6 out of 10 US adults said that gun violence is a very big problem in the country, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022.
Gun Laws: What’s Allowed and What’s Banned?
Though firearm is permitted in the US, the right to bear arms is not absolute. The sale and ownership of guns are prohibited to certain categories of people.
Weapons including shotguns, rifles, machine guns, firearm mufflers and silencers are regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934. However the purchase of semi-automatic weapons is legal in most states, as are automatic weapons made before 1986.
There are also no federal laws banning semiautomatic assault weapons, military-style .50 caliber rifles, handguns, or large-capacity magazines as of 2022. There is also no federal requirement for those purchasing a gun to have any firearm safety training.
The Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits individuals under 18 years of age, convicted criminals, the mentally disabled, dishonourably discharged military personnel, and others from purchasing firearms.
The law also calls for mandated background checks for all unlicensed individuals purchasing a firearm from a federally authorized dealer.
Though there were federal laws prohibition assault weapons and large-capacity magazines between 1994 and 2004, the US Congress allowed these restrictions to expire.
How Many Guns are Circulating in US?
Over the past two decades more than 200 million guns have hit the US market, led by assault rifles and personal handguns, feeding a surge in murders, mass shootings and suicides.
The US, with less than 5 percent of the world’s population, has 46 percent of the world’s civilian-owned guns, according to a report by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey.
The survey also stated that there was an average of 88 guns per 100 people in the US in 2011. The US also has the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world’s most-developed nations.
What do the Opponents and the Proponents Say?
A majority of Americans have supported stricter gun laws for decades and the call for a ban on firearms is increasing with surging violence post-Covid.
While the supporters of gun control, around 55 percent, called for a ban on the manufacture, possession and sale of semiautomatic guns. People also called for other measures, including raising the legal age for purchasing certain firearms and enacting a 30-day waiting period for gun sales, according to The New York Times.
Opponents of gun control, including most Republican members of Congress, argue that the proposal infringes on the right of citizens to bear arms enshrined in the US Constitution. They also argue that the mass shootings are not due to the accessibility of guns, but due to criminals and mentally ill people bent on violence.
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