The United States has not been able to find a solution to a problem that threatens the safety of its citizens, and that has become an epidemic, a health problem: gun violence.
By María Josefina Arce
The United States has not been able to find a solution to a problem that threatens the safety of its citizens, and that has become an epidemic, a health problem: gun violence.
The pain and mourning caused by mass shootings has reached many families in the United States, a country that is close to reaching the second highest annual rate of these events in the last nine years.
2021 has been considered the deadliest in terms of these violent incidents. Nearly 49,000 Americans were killed by firearms.
A study by Johns Hopkins University showed that one person died every 11 minutes on average in that year, marked by the COVID 19 pandemic, but in which deaths from these devices continued to mark an upward trend.
And 2023 is not off to a good start. To date, more than 340 shootings have already been recorded and concern is growing among Americans. One in five have admitted that they do not feel safe in the face of the proliferation of firearms.
According to the organization, Archive Against Gun Violence, if this rate continues, the number of incidents of this nature could exceed 679 this year.
The figures are alarming, but unfortunately they are becoming commonplace in a nation where the number of guns exceeds the number of inhabitants. With a population of just over 330 million people, there are nearly 400 million firearms on U.S. soil.
The debate about their necessary control gains strength every time such an event takes place, such as those reported on July 4th, Independence Day, and in the days that followed.
Gun shootings are now part of the daily life of American society, which has also lamented the death of minors.
In fact, gun violence has claimed more lives of American children and young people than diseases and accidents, according to research.
However, stopping the proliferation of firearms is very difficult; it clashes with major interests such as those of the National Rifle Association, a lobby with strong influence in Washington.
The United States, which, with its usual duplicity, claims to be concerned about the welfare and safety of the inhabitants of other nations, owes a great debt to its citizens. Political and economic interests have always weighed more heavily than life.
