The United States has experienced more than 200 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines mass shootings as those in which four or more people are killed, not including the perpetrator of the attack.
Unfortunately, when I was writing this article, I received the news of the shooting in Allen, Texas, leaving 9 dead and 7 wounded.
Gun violence is a contemporary global human rights problem that threatens the most fundamental right of every human being, the right to life.
Gun violence is an everyday tragedy that affects people’s lives around the world, killing more than 500 people every day.
Gun violence is a contemporary global human rights problem that threatens the most fundamental right of every human being, the right to life.
Gun violence is an everyday tragedy that affects people’s lives around the world, killing more than 500 people every day.
Easy access to firearms, whether legal or illegal, is one of the main reasons for gun violence.
Governments have the obligation to maximize the protection of human rights and create an environment that is as safe as possible for the majority of the population, especially for those considered most vulnerable. A government that fails to adequately control the possession and use of firearms in a persistent situation of armed violence could be in breach of its obligations under international human rights law.
Derived from the previous obligation, States must comply with their obligations and establish new laws and strict regulations for the prevention of violence with firearms. States also have the obligation to establish intervention measures at the community level to reduce and prevent armed violence in the daily lives of people.
For it; Governments must carry out sensible gun law reforms to end gun violence and protect people’s right to life. Our human rights are not protected if our rulers do not end gun violence and deaths caused by firearms.
With more firearms than people, the United States of America has the highest rate of gun-related deaths among developed countries: 45,000 in 2020 and more than 49,000 in 2021. Which makes us reflect on the following question
Why is the United States the country with the most mass shootings?
Another important thought to keep in mind is that fewer people are killed in shootings in the United States because American police are often trained on how to deal with these types of incidents. In Mexico, the police were slower to respond and in other Latin American countries the police were more likely to be less prepared to respond.
Some researchers believe that massacres can be “contagious”: one death or shooting increases the chances that another may occur in the following two weeks. It is like an “infection” a kind of epidemic, which lasts about 13 days.
This copycat phenomenon is more pronounced in the US because guns are more widely available to people than in any other country. Thus, access to firearms is an important factor in predicting these incidents.
Besides; U.S. firearms are trafficked with alarming frequency, increasing violence in the United States and across international borders.
Gun trafficking is the movement of guns from legal to illegal streams of commerce and occurs both within states and across state lines. As former Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Bradley Buckles stated in a 2000 report, “Virtually every crime gun in the United States starts off as a legal firearm,” making the need to prevent gun trafficking a crucial part of a comprehensive approach to reducing gun-related crime. Guns are diverted into illegal gun markets in three common ways:
1. Straw purchases.
2. Secondary sales through private sellers
3. Theft from individual gun owners or firearm dealers.
Yes. The biggest recipients of U.S. guns are Canada and Mexico. From 2014 to 2019, there were more than 11,000 firearms recovered in Canada that originated in the United States. Tragically, some firearms used in Canada’s worst mass shooting—perpetrated in Nova Scotia in April 2020—were acquired in Maine and later smuggled into Canada.
And, from 2014 to 2019, more than 70,000 U.S. guns were recovered in Mexico. However, the number of recovered and traced firearms could represent only a small portion of the large number of firearms that are trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border every year. A 2013 study found that, between 2010 and 2012, close to 213,000 firearms were purchased annually in the United States and subsequently trafficked to Mexico. In fact, the Mexican government has sued American manufacturers for allegedly facilitating and marketing the sale of firearms to criminal groups in Mexico.
U.S.-sourced guns are also frequently trafficked to other parts of the world. From 2014 to 2019, more than 15,000 guns that originated in the United States were recovered in connection with crimes in Central America, particularly in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. During the same period, more than 6,000 U.S. firearms were recovered in the Caribbean, mainly in Jamaica and the Bahamas. U.S. firearms are also a concern for South American nations. While ATF does not publicize trace data regarding crime guns recovered in South America, making it difficult to ascertain the scope of the problem in that part of the world, the federal police of Brazil reported that the United States is the biggest source of foreign firearms in the country and that most of these weapons are handguns and assault rifles. Firearms purchased in the United States have also been used by drug traffickers in Colombia and have even reached in Argentina and Chile, the southernmost nation on the continent.
The impact has been devastating. Latin America is the region with the highest rate of homicides with firearms in the world: according to different studies in the last 10 years.
Thus, after the latest mass shootings in the United States, a bipartisan agreement has recently been approved to increase control over firearms in the country.
Let’s remember that in recent years, some of the representatives of the Democratic Party have promoted several initiatives to modify the law that allows the possession of weapons in the United States. Some of the proposed measures are raising the age of gun buyers from 18 to 21, banning the sale of high-impact rifles, and implementing universal background checks. However, these proposals have not been put into practice, as they have generally been blocked by the Republican party and the most conservative sector of the Democratic party.
Additionally, the Biden administration recently announced a new enforcement initiative targeting gun trafficking in five high-risk areas across the country. This initiative includes coordination between the U.S. Department of Justice, local law enforcement agencies, and ATF to mitigate gun trafficking. In addition to focusing criminal enforcement resources on individuals engaged in illegal gun trafficking, the plan also includes strengthening regulatory enforcement over gun dealers who contribute to gun trafficking by failing to fully comply with federal law regarding the operation of their businesses.
There is no specific crime of gun trafficking under U.S. federal law, and lawmakers have introduced legislation to create new crimes of gun trafficking and straw purchasing. However, even in the absence of these dedicated crimes, some of the conduct underlying gun trafficking does violate current federal law. For example, it is illegal to straw purchase a firearm on behalf of another person, a crime that is generally charged as making a false statement in connection with a gun sale facilitated by a licensed gun dealer It is also a violation of federal law for an individual to buy a handgun in a state in which they are not a resident and to provide a gun to someone while “knowing or having reasonable cause to believe” that they are prohibited from possessing one under federal law.
Gun trafficking also violates some state laws. For example, California, Connecticut, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island have laws that penalize individuals who purchase firearms with the intent of supplying them to traffickers.
The axis of gravity is that Gun trafficking and straw purchasing dangerously undermine states’ gun safety laws and drive the illegal firearms market.
The efforts undertaken in the Biden administration are important, because today, a step forward has been taken and a framework agreement has been approved to increase control over the possession of weapons. The latter has been promoted by a group of twenty senators, specifically, ten Republican senators and ten Democrats.
Some of the measures proposed in the document are financing the implementation of “red flag” laws at the state level and improving the background check system, in order to make it more rigorous. Regarding the first of the measures, we emphasize that the “flag laws” -also known as extreme risk protection orders- are already applied in several states and allow authorities or family members to limit the right to possess firearms. under the prerogative of a judge. Regarding the second proposal, the agreement proposes the review of the process of purchasing weapons for those under 21 years of age. It should be noted that the perpetrators of the shootings that took place at the supermarket in Buffalo (New York) and the school in Uvalde (Texas) were 18 years old.
It is well known that the Second Amendment to the US Constitution grants US citizens the right to keep and bear firearms; also that this right is the subject of constant debate in the country and that it is highly politicized.
In this sense, one of the main reasons why the right to possession remains is the influence of the US National Rifle Association, an organization whose purpose is to defend the right to own weapons.
Beyond this “influence” and as a result of the increase in homicide rates and mass shootings, the Biden Administration may in April 2021 new restrictions on access to firearms.
According to the latest data provided by the Pew Research Center in a study carried out in June 2021, four out of ten American adults say they live in a home with the possession of a firearm.
Among the reasons that Americans give to justify the possession of weapons, personal protection is the most defended. Other reasons stated are the practice of hunting, sports, for reasons of family inheritance, as well as the use of weapons during work activities.
In addition, there are differences in gun ownership rates based on political party affiliation. For example, 44% of Republicans say they personally own a gun. This data contrasts with the percentage of gun ownership by Democrats (20%).
Regarding public concern about violence caused by gun ownership, data provided by the Pew Research Center show that around half of Americans (48%) consider gun violence to be a problem.” very serious” in the country today. Of this group, 73% of those are Democrats.
24% of adults say gun violence is a “moderately big” problem. Meanwhile, 20% of them say that it is a “small problem” or that it is “not a problem” (6%).
Finally, it should be noted that approximately 53% of Americans are in favor of putting up with gun laws. Only 14% defend that the laws that regulate this matter cannot be “less strict”. Within these figures, it is, in the majority, the Democrats who defend that the laws on weapons could be stricter (81%).
Due to the debate established by the possession of weapons, added to the increase in homicides and shootings, there have been several proposed bills. The first of these was a bill passed by the House of Representatives in 2021. The bill is known as the Background Checks Improvement Act of 2021. This bill was endorsed by Jim Clyburn, Democratic State Representative. from South Carolina.
However, the proposal, known as the “Charlestoon Loophole” it would finally allow certain gun sales to take place before the required background checks happen.
After the shooting that took place in Uvalda, in the town of Texas, the senators of the Democratic party took measures so that the Background Checks Improvement Act of 2021 could be voted on in the Senate, although the date for it has not yet been specified. let the vote take place.
The Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2021. This bill received a majority vote; the main change that it proposes is to expand the background check for all sales or transfers of firearms in the country.
Common sense is very clear. There would be fewer mass shootings in the United States and Latin America if it were more difficult for people to obtain guns.
Due to inconsistent regulation that varies widely from state to state, guns move far too easily from states with weak gun laws into states with strong gun laws. Gun trafficking is the process by which guns enter the black market and end up being used in crimes, while straw purchasing is a tactic where a person buys a gun on behalf of someone else, who is usually ineligible to purchase it.
“Gun trafficking” refers to the diversion of guns from lawful commerce into the illegal market. In many cases, gun trafficking occurs across state lines, as gun traffickers take advantage of in US porous gun laws by buying guns in states with weak gun laws and illegally reselling them in states with strong gun laws.
Every year, tens of thousands of guns enter the illegal market through a number of channels, including: straw purchases, corrupt gun dealers, sales by unlicensed sellers who aren’t required to conduct background checks, gun thefts, and bulk gun purchases.
Although the majority of trafficking investigations involve straw purchases, corrupt retail gun dealers account for a higher volume of guns diverted into the illegal market than any other single trafficking channel.
Straw purchasing—in which a purchaser is actually buying a gun on behalf of someone else—is the most common channel identified in trafficking investigations.
Guns purchased from unlicensed sellers are also an important source of guns diverted to the illegal market. Closing this loophole and requiring background checks on all gun sales can significantly reduce the number of guns that enter into the illegal market.
Research also indicates that gun thefts and bulk gun purchases are important pathways through which guns are trafficked.
In 2022, Congress enacted and President Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that prohibits a person from transferring a firearm to another person if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the use, carrying, or possession of a firearm by the recipient is a felony; receiving a firearm from another person if they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the receipt is a felony; or attempting or conspiring to transfer or receive a firearm when they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the transfer or receipt is a felony.
As described above, a straw purchaser buys a firearm from a licensed firearms dealer on behalf of another person. Straw purchases are illegal because federal law criminalizes the making of false statements to a dealer about a material fact on ATF Form 4473, which must be filled out when a firearm is purchased from a licensed dealer. Form 4473 asks the purchaser to confirm that he or she is the “actual transferee/buyer of the firearm(s)” and states, “You are not the actual buyer if you are acquiring the firearm(s) on behalf of another person.” A straw purchaser therefore commits a federal crime by falsely stating that he or she is the actual gun buyer. In a successful straw purchase, the actual buyer has also committed a federal crime by aiding and abetting the straw purchaser or causing the making of the false statements. In the 2013 case of Abramski v. US, the US Supreme Court again affirmed that these federal laws prohibit straw purchases.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act further criminalizes straw purchasing by prohibiting any person from knowingly purchasing or conspiring to purchase a firearm for another person if the purchaser knows or has reasonable cause to believe that the other person (1) is prohibited from receiving a firearm under federal law; (2) intends to use, carry, possess, or sell or otherwise dispose of the firearm in the furtherance of a felony, federal crime of terrorism, or drug trafficking; or (3) intends to sell or dispose of the firearm to a person who is prohibited from receiving a firearm under federal law or intends to use, carry, possess, or sell or otherwise dispose of the firearm in furtherance of a felony, federal crime of terrorism, or drug trafficking.
Gun traffickers exploit the loopholes in federal law by purposefully purchasing guns through sales that do not require background checks or sale records. Federal law does not generally prohibit this behavior except in the context of straw purchases. Federal law only requires licensed dealers, and not unlicensed private sellers, to conduct background checks on purchasers and maintain records of sales. As a result, guns are often sold or transferred to dangerous people even though they are ineligible to purchase or possess firearms.
Several studies have shown that gun deaths rise as more guns are available, a society in which there is no safety, no sanctuary, no haven. You may be shot dead or grievously wounded in church, in school, in a hospital, in your own home, simply because a crazy neighbor decides to shoot.
Most Americans say they want to live in a safer, saner country. According to Gallup, more than half are dissatisfied with current gun laws. According to a Fox News poll, 61% support banning the sale of assault-style rifles, and 77% support a 30-day waiting period for all gun purchases.
I conclude with the following reflection… After a rash of Atlanta-area mass shootings in 2021, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution quoted a state legislator as saying: “We don’t have to live like this.” No, we don’t. But we choose to.
Framing gun control and its roots in American gun culture as a regional issue can be beneficial to victims of violence in both the United States and Latin America.
Ultimately, if gun culture, legislation and violence are taken within a broader regional context with global integration and extensive joint cooperation turned into a special chapter in a new international security and defense treaty Mexico Canada and the United States United, rather than simply a US problem, the cycles of violence perpetrated by this problem on both sides of the border can begin to be mitigated and truly safer communities can be built.
