BY ANGELA DANIELS
President Obama has laid out new plans to curb gun deaths in the United States, amidst the continued opposition to his efforts against entrenched American gun culture.
He stated that every year, more than 30,000 Americans get their lives cut short, through gun violence, but Mr Obama can only fall back on what is left of his legal authority and take actions that can help reduce gun violence and save more lives. ‘Actions that protect our rights and our kids,’ he said, and broke down uncharacteristically in tears, at the press conference. ‘Every time I think of those kids, it gets me mad…’ This referred to the incident in 2013, where 20 year old Adam Peter Lanza shot 20 children – and adult staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School, after shooting his mother at home. Lanza shot himself in the head as First Responders arrived at the scene.
No evidence collected provided any indication as to the reason Lanza undertook thT massacre or why he targeted the school specifically. That incident was the deadliest mass shooting at a high school or grade school in U S history. It prompted renewed debate about gun control, including proposals for making background check system universal and for new state gun legislation banning the sale and manufacture of certain types of semi- automatic firearms and magazines with more than ten rounds of ammunition.
President Obama’s new Executive action set out the following:
1. Anybody in the business of selling fire- arms must get a licence and conduct background checks or be subject to criminal prosecution.
2. The government will do everything possible to ensure smart and effective enforcement of gun safety laws that are already on the books. This means adding 200 more ATF agents and investigators, require fire-arm dealers to report loss or stolen guns.
3. Government will do more to help those suffering from mental health to get the help they need.
4. There will be a boost in gun safety technology, to address the issue of gun injuries where legal guns are stolen, misused or discharged accidentally.
The President acknowledged that the effects will not happen overnight, not during his presidency. ‘…the liberation of African Americans didn’t happen overnight…’ he added. ‘?..its hard is no excuse not to try…’
The avowed effort to curb bloodshed, with or efore without Congress, according to New York Times, faces legal, political and logistical hurdles that could ‘blunt the effect of the plan he laid out’.
The mixed reactions, apparently massively more on the negative side to restrictions, further confirms American love affair with guns. The evidence of statistics must worry President Obama that the more government attempts on gun control, the more the rush to soar gun sales. Since calling for new gun buying restrictions last December after the shootings by radicalised, San Bernadine couple who killed fourteen people, injured 22 before they were shot dead. Stocks in Smith Wessons, makers of some of the weapons used in San Bernardino attacks surged in the days since the tragedy, in keeping with a pattern that sees the share price of guns jump after fatal incidents.
Interestingly, a random check on 29 celebrities, indicated only 8 for guns, and the rest against. Examples of those in favour of guns- Brad Pitt, Angela Jolie, Jonny Depp, Tom Selleck. On the side against guns, we have, Sean Connery, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Beyonce, Arnold Swarzenegger.
Statistics show a significantly increasing number of women also panic buying and for the first time. People tend to argue for self-defence. It seems a hopeless situation that may further take as long as the liberation of African Americans. President Obama will go down in history as having tried his best. It’s a uniquely American demon, spelling out danger- 30,000 gun deaths a year! Long live Britain, may you never change!