By Guillermo Alvarado
Between January 1st and January 24th of this year, there were 24 mass shootings in the United States, one per day on average, which confirms that this is one of the most violent countries in the so-called developed world and also where it is much easier to acquire a firearm.
In fact, it is much easier to acquire a revolver or a semi-automatic rifle and the corresponding license, than to obtain a license to drive a car, because it is enough a slight search of criminal records that sellers do on the Internet in a matter of minutes.
By law, automatic weapons, that is, those that fire in burst, can only be in the hands of the police or the army, but any civilian can buy, for example, a Smith & Wesson Volunteer XV 5.56 caliber pistol -the same as the M-16 rifle- which easily fires up to 30 bullets.
Another case is that of the well-known AR-15, the shot-to-shot version of the M-16, a very accurate weapon used by the assault groups of many armies around the world, which becomes automatic with the simple modification of a part that takes less than two minutes. Moreover, there are numerous tutorials on the Internet for the buyer to do the job himself.
The arms business is one of the most prosperous in the northern power, where, according to a study by the Swiss organization Small Arms Survey, there are 393 million of these devices in the hands of the civilian population.
This means more than one per inhabitant, including the elderly and infants, and the consequences of this situation can be seen all the time in a territory where its citizens are in danger of being shot dead in the most unsuspected places: a school, a church or a supermarket.
As the popular saying goes: he who makes the law, makes the trap, and although there are very few states with restrictions on owning or carrying guns, these can be circumvented with the help of enthusiastic sellers.
A recent article in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada points out how at the convention of the National Rifle Association of the United States, which takes place this week, special bags are being offered to conceal a gun, or furniture with secret compartments to hide it.In that country last year 2,554 people died due to injuries caused by firearms, that is, almost 213 every month, a singular mark for the nation that claims to be a staunch defender of human rights in the world, but where the one from which all other possible rights emanate, the right to life, is violated on a daily basis.
