[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]On May 6, a 33-year-old man shot and killed eight people, including children, in an Allen, Texas retail centre.
While the shooter’s motive is unknown, US police say he has ties to the neo-Nazi movement. Only a few days before, a Texas man fatally shot five neighbours after being told to stop shooting in his yard.
When it comes to shootings, these tales are just the tip of the iceberg. According to the Gun Violence Archive, 55 people are shot every day in the United States. Some guns are shot with the purpose to murder, while others are discharged accidentally. Not long ago, a teen in the United States was shot just for rang the incorrect doorbell.
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According to the Gun Violence Archive, as of May 11, 2023, a total of 15,170 persons had been either purposefully or accidently killed by weapons, or had committed suicide with a gun. According to the organisation, there have been 202 mass shootings, defined as occurrences in which at least four people are injured or killed.
However, the United States is not the only country afflicted by gun violence. Two mass shootings have recently occurred in Serbia, and a recent incident in Hamburg has renewed debate in Germany over tougher gun legislation.
Which Measures Can Prevent Shootings?
Following the recent Texas mall shooting, US President Joe Biden called for stricter gun restrictions and a ban on the AR-15 rifle, which was used in this and prior mass shootings. However, Republicans have thus far thwarted his efforts.
Scientists disagree on whether tighter restrictions would, as expected, reduce the number of shootings. While experts believe that stronger restrictions reduce the likelihood of mass shootings in different US states, research into which laws are genuinely helpful is still ongoing. This study topic has gained traction since Biden’s election, but it remains severely underfunded.
Scholars at the Rand Corporation have investigated the consequences of numerous laws and assessed research on the issue. They discovered that only one rule, a restriction on high-capacity magazines, had a discernible influence on the number of shootings. High-capacity magazines can store up to 20 rounds of handgun ammunition and ten rounds of rifle ammunition.
The evidence on the effectiveness of alternative measures, such as enforcing a minimum age for gun ownership, prohibiting dangerous persons from obtaining firearms, or conducting general background checks, was equivocal, according to the researchers. According to Rand Corporation analysts, there is insufficient data to draw any conclusions in this area.
Ubiquity of Guns is a Problem
Other academics, on the other hand, see a clearer relationship between law and levels of gun violence.
For example, the Johns Hopkins Centre for Gun Violence Solutions in Baltimore, Maryland, gathered data from many US states with differing gun restrictions during a 30-year period. However, Daniel Webster of the Johns Hopkins Centre told NPR in the United States that it is “a really hard and, frankly, inexact science.”
Nonetheless, the comparative study discovered three measures that were particularly helpful in decreasing gun violence: granting gun licences, prohibiting high-capacity magazines, and prohibiting semiautomatic guns, which can fire many rounds and kill scores of people.
I believe the cause is straightforward: the overwhelming availability of firearms in the United States in comparison to other countries. This is the only plausible explanation. Almost all of these mass killings include weapons.
However, because firearms are not required to be registered, it is impossible to know the exact number of guns in the United States. Estimates based on surveys and sales statistics, on the other hand, offer a bleak image. According to the Statista Research Department, approximately 45% of US people polled in 2022 reported having at least one firearm in their home.
Meanwhile, German armaments manufacturers are making a lot of money selling guns to Americans. Heckler & Koch, for example, is well-known in the United States and is frequently represented at National Rifle Association (NRA) meetings.
The German Economic Ministry even organised and largely funded a stand for German weapon manufactures to exhibit their guns at the world’s largest firearms trade expo in the United States, according to recent disclosures by the German daily Tagesspiegel and public broadcaster ZDF.
The government will stop backing Germany’s firearms business abroad this year, after decades of doing so.
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