The list of tragic rampages in the US is long: Sandy Hook, Parkland, Uvalde and Las Vegas are just four of hundreds of incidents that shake the country every year. According to the non-profit research group Gun Violence Archive, there have already been 216 mass shootings in the United States this year, with the harrowing murders at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday.
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The calls for stricter gun laws are therefore getting louder – but they fall on deaf ears in large parts of the country. Numerous presidents, including Obama, tried again and again with restrictions and reforms – without success. Because: Americans love the 2nd Amendment to the United States Constitution – it enshrines the right to own and bear arms.
What guns are legal and what “qualifications” a prospective gun owner must have varies from state to state in the United States. In Arizona, Texas, Idaho or Mississippi, there are hardly any notable hurdles to acquiring a gun, and ownership is often possible from the age of eighteen.
California has the strictest rules. There are fixed rules for the acquisition and use of weapons there, and the state is also trying to limit the options available to the population when it comes to weapons. It was only last year that the sale of semi-automatic weapons to persons under the age of 21 was banned. In mid-May, this restriction was questioned by a federal court and is now being renegotiated, as “” reports.
One organization keeps popping up in discussions about US gun laws: the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), with more than five million members.
“The Ameriguns”
The photo book “” (42.95 euros) by the Italian photographer shows how much the Americans idolize their weapons. Years ago, the photographer traveled to the United States for his pictures and searched for Americans who were committed to a life with guns.
The recordings show that in some US families it is quite normal for the gun cabinet to be an integral part of the facility – and in many a veritable collection mania breaks out. In the book, the images are accompanied by interviews with the gun enthusiasts who consider owning countless guns (and even bazookas) to be completely normal. In a conversation with a Hawaiian, for example, killing sprees are never the fault of the guns, but of the people. Otherwise one would have to ban cars too, he concludes.
Also the star reported last year on a phone call with a US Department of Defense employee who enjoys shooting ammunition in his free time. Find out in the interview what goes on in the mind of a person who counts the use of deadly firearms among his hobbies.
+++ Also read: Crazy – Many Americans don’t get enough of the guns despite all the murder statistics +++
US President Biden will probably find it extremely difficult to reform American traditions and impose new rules on the use of lethal weapons in the country. The numbers are screaming that something must finally be done.
Just yesterday, the Gun Violence Archive released new statistics for the current year. According to this, 7,772 people have been shot since the beginning of the year, 9,768 have taken their own lives with a gun. 144 children under the age of eleven were killed and 302 injured. Even more so with teenagers: The research group reports 516 dead and 1329 injured.
Source: Stern
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