Unbridled Violence in the USA

by Guillermo Alvarado

The shooting that occurred during a campaign event of former President Donald Trump, in which he was wounded, two people were killed, including the shooter, and there are two people in delicate condition, has caused a deep uproar around the world.

The event was almost unanimously described as an assassination attempt against the Republican leader, and the condemnation is practically universal, regardless of political tendencies or ideological differences of governments and countries.

According to the data known so far, the perpetrator of the attack was a 20-year-old American young man named Thomas Mathiew Crooks, originally from Pennsylvania, the same state where Trump's event was held.

Unfortunately, he was shot and killed by police, which will make it difficult to know details about the reasons that prompted him to attempt the assassination.

Of course, this kind of violence is completely unacceptable, and within the Northern power, politicians, officials and analysts agree in rejecting the excessive use of force in the midst of a political contest that should be a civic celebration, not a massacre.

Perhaps this is the right time to reflect deeply on the state of this increasingly polarized society, where armed violence is an almost daily problem for the population, although this has not happened since 1981, when Ronald Reagan was shot.

It is said, and it must be repeated, that the United States is the only country in the world where the number of pistols, revolvers, and rifles of various calibers and power in the hands of civilians exceeds the number of inhabitants, including newborn babies and the elderly.

In this nation, getting a weapon like the one used by Mathiew Crooks, an AR-15 rifle, is almost as easy as buying the grocery list at the supermarket, and today there are even special dispensers for purchasing ammunition, like those used for candy or soft drinks. In 2023 alone, 2,554 people died in mass shootings there, according to the non-governmental organization Armed Violence Archive.

The logical outrage over Saturday's attack should lead to concrete action to control and limit the sale of guns and ammunition, to curb the power of the National Rifle Association, and above all to uphold the right to life of every citizen, regardless of his or her role in society.