Editorial: Another mass shooting, another outrage

For all its sheen of freedom, democracy and liberal values, America’s worst kept secret is the menace of mass shootings.

Yet another mass shooting has shaken the United States. At least ten people were killed when a gunman opened fire inside a Walmart store at Chesapeake in Virginia. Mass shootings in America have acquired a sense of macabre familiarity and occur with unfailing regularity. Though there has been massive public outrage against these pointless killings and a raging debate over gun laws, nothing much happens in a country where buying military-grade weapons off the shelf cheaper is easier and more accessible than buying health insurance cover. The Walmart shooting is the third such incident this month. In a shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs over the weekend, five people were killed. Earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia, three members of the University of Virginia football team were killed by a former football player who opened fire in a garage. According to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit research organisation, there have been at least 601 mass shootings so far this year. The issue of gun laws in the US is a hyper-partisan and extremely divisive one, falling largely along party lines. While Democrats are nearly unanimous in their support for stricter gun laws, the Republicans overwhelmingly back gun ownership as a constitutional right. The US ratio of 120 firearms per 100 residents far surpasses that of other countries in the world. Gun ownership grew significantly over the last several years. Politicians recognise this as a problem almost unique to America but it’s a problem that politics seem incapable of solving.

For all its sheen of freedom, democracy, equal opportunity and liberal values, America’s worst kept secret is the menace of mass shootings. One fails to understand why any legal system should allow an unhinged teenager to buy automatic weapons virtually unquestioned and unleash terror on unsuspecting people. This is the stark reality of America, a country where the gun lobby holds much more clout than the healthcare industry. During his tenure, President Barack Obama did make sincere efforts to check the menace of gun culture but could not get support from Congress. He aggressively advocated for more gun-control and called his failure to pass significant reforms one of the greatest frustrations of his presidency. People could be safer only if the country bans assault rifles with large ammunition magazines that are used by mass murderers. Some states have taken steps to ban or strictly regulate the ownership of assault weapons. In June this year, the Senate approved bipartisan legislation aimed at keeping firearms out of the hands of dangerous people. The move would enhance background checks for prospective gun buyers between 18 and 21 years of age, requiring for the first time that juvenile records, including mental health records beginning at age 16, be vetted for potentially disqualifying material.

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