The shooting that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14 prompted extensive news coverage throughout the world, including wide attention in the British media. In the aftermath debate in the US about the need for increased gun control laws has been reignited, posing the question: will this be the moment that America makes a change in terms of its gun laws?
Certainly there is a momentum to enact this change. President Obama has said that he will support a new bill to ban assault rifles and has appointed Vice President Biden as the head of a task force to produce a firm set of proposals on the reform of firearm laws over the coming weeks. The Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein – a long-time advocate of stricter gun control laws – has pledged to introduce a bill on January 3 that would outlaw around 100 types of military-style semi-automatic guns.
The appetite for firmer regulation among politicians (including many conservatives) is underpinned by a popular feeling of the need to take action following the horrific events at Sandy Hook. A CNN poll on Wednesday suggests a significant proportion of Americans would go further than Obama; with 37 per cent favouring major restrictions on ownership, 33 per cent favouring minor restrictions, and 15 per cent supporting an absolute ban on all civilian guns. This contrasts with a YouGov survey in August that found 47 per cent supported gun laws remaining the same or becoming less strict.
The Essay on Gun Laws 2
... Brady Bill or any additional measures for gun control. All of them support concealed carry laws. I wonder if that is typical of ... there? Bob Bailey -- Please pardon me for adding my two cents worth relative to your question because what I have to ... be suprised at the answers. TO Stan Watson : Your 2 cents worth was good to hear. The Sherrif here in Pope ...
Gun retailers have seen the need for increased sensitivity in the context of public anger; Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of America’s largest gun retail chains, has suspended the sale of assault rifles (or “modern sporting guns”) in its stores. And Cerberus, the huge private equity firm that owns several gun-making companies, has put them all up for sale, attempting to distance itself from a consumer backlash.
So surely the US is on the brink of introducing a set of much stricter gun control laws? After all, in a country where people are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than in any another developed country a change is inevitable, right? The unfortunate fact is that the public and political call for gun law reform resonates all too well with that following previous massacres, and in those cases enthusiasm for greater firearm restriction soon died down. Following the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in 2011 polls showed a similarly high support for firearm restriction. The long-term impact of the Virginia Tech Massacre – the deadliest shooting incident by a single gunman in US history – on gun control has proved negligible.
In fact the greatest contribution of Virginia Tech to American gun culture could be argued the formation of the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus, which formed after the shooting to support allowing citizens with concealed carry permits to bring their guns to campus for the purpose of self-defence. As of March 2009 the group had established official chapters in 363 campuses and had over 38,000 members. This chimes with the National Rifle Association’s message this week: that the solution to the recent spate of killings is the introduction of armed guards in schools.
And unlikely as it might seem given the current tide of public opinion, it seems that this argument chimes with many Americans. In the past week Walmart has sold out of semi-automatic assault rifles at many of its supermarkets and gun sales increased at many other stores, with the Hyatt Gun Shop in North Carolina making more than $1 million in sales in a single day – its best performance since it opened in 1959. Whether this surge is due to a perceived need to protect or a fear that these weapons will be banned (or both) it suggests something deep-rooted in the American psyche about the role of the individual, about his or her need for individual as opposed to state protection. The shootings in Connecticut were a reminder of the cost of that belief, but as the memory fades so too will the desire for greater government control.
The Essay on Gun Control 44
A woman in Texas is in the middle of a massacre. Dining with her parents, a man comes in and begins a murderous rampage. While lying on the floor, she reaches for a gun in her purse, but it isnt there. While people are dying, her gun is lying in the trunk of her car, because of Texas law against concealed carry. Twenty two people were murdered that day, including Suzanna Gratias parents. Because ...
