There is hardly any disagreement about gun violence in the United States of America that turned into an epidemic. In 2020-gun violence took away 20.000 lives of the people in the United States of America. Additionally, 24,000 people lost their lives by suicides with a gun. There is no concrete effort by any administration of USA to stop gun violence in the USA. In spite of violence in the USA people reportedly purchased about 23 million guns in 2020. That added another alarming factor.
As of now a major hurdle against control of guns is the National Rifle Association (NAR) which was established in 1871.In the process the Association has become a powerful organization whose membership turns around five million who purchased members of house of representatives and Senate as well. During the course of the election members of the NAR gave donations on account of assurance that they would protect guns. The NRA relies and staunchly defends a disputed article of the constitution of the second amendment. Second amendment of the constitution belongs to the Bill of Rights which is reportedly said that “a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” There are many explanations about the second amendment of the constitution. I hope that the word “militia “refers to a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. Such states in fact gradually ceded control to Federal authorities and faded from existence. Now it has been replaced by the US National Guard.
There has been serious crisis in the USA following the killing by police of an African-American by the name George Floyd in Minnesota on 25 May, 2020. Since then, two weeks of protests racked the USA. No police officer has ever been punished by the authorities in the United States of America for their fault. Police brutality is rooted in systematic racism and oppression of black people and people of color.
Having seen the crisis it is suggested that there is a need for radical change in the criminal justice system. The US criminal justice system is broken .The US represents 5 percent of the world’ s population but nearly 25 percent belong to mass incarceration followed by consequences: racial, social and economic.
Since the House of Representatives or the Senate has succeeded to reform the criminal justice system in the USA because of the lobby system the President Joseph R Biden has decided to improve the Criminal Justice system by issuing executive orders. As a result, President Joseph R Biden declared at a Press briefing from the Rose Garden of the White House on 8 April along with Vice-President Kamala Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland to strengthen the criminal justice system. Both Vice President and Attorney- General have spoken. Vice-President Kamala Harris is reported to have said we have had more tragedy than we can hear while the Attorney General is reported to have said that “Gun control was a politically divisive subject in the USA “which has experienced a significant number of deadly mass shootings at schools and other public venues for decades.
It seems to be interesting to note that five people, including a prominent doctor, his wife and two of his grandchildren are reported to have been killed on 7 April at South Carolina while six members of Bangladesh origin family in Texas came to end by suicide on 5 April, 2021 as stated by Police.
President Joseph Biden is reported to have said gun violence in this country has become epidemic and an international embarrassment. President Biden called to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines while the Attorney General has been directed to prepare a plan to curb gun violence. President is reported to have said that there are ‘phony arguments’ suggesting that these are second Amendment rights at stake from what we are talking about. President Biden in fact suggested six action plans to prevent gun violence: regulating ghost guns, committing new reports assessing illegal firearms trafficking, regulating pistol modifications, and the Justice Department should model ‘red flag’ laws for states to adopt. The Department of Justice has been directed to prepare rules to regulate the sale of so-called ghosts’ guns within 30 days.
This is for the first time the Government of the United States is preparing to take action in order to stop gun violence which has become menace. Among the prominent gun control advocates present were parents of student slain in the Park hood Florida, High School shooting, parents of Sandy Hook elementary school shooting and former house Representative Gabby Gifford who survived from shooting at Tucson on 8 January in 2011.
In view of rampant shooting, including Police on duty there is a need to have country wide demonstrations to stop gun violence in support of proposed plans of President Joseph R Biden. Enough is enough.
(Mr. Hossain, a retired diplomat from Bangladesh and former President Nova Toastmaster International Club of America, writes from Falls Church, Virginia)
