A horrendous incident took place at an elementary school in Texas where a lone gunman killed and injured children using assault rifles. This is the second such incident in under two weeks in the US.

36 people have died of gun terror in US so far in 2021, 521 people died in 2020, 1620 died in the last 4 years. Had this been in any other country, US would have cried human rights violation, genocide. Why is it silent on “terrorism” at home?

There have been a large number of mass shooting incidents reported in the USA.  According to a non-profit organisation called Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 212 mass shootings in 144 days.

There were 19,384 gun-related homicides in 2020, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 53 people are killed each day by a firearm in the US, according to the data.

Killings involving a gun accounted for nearly 79% of all homicides in 2020, according to the CDC. That’s a larger proportion of homicides than in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries.

As a responsive move, the Biden administration had unveiled a new rule to control the ghost guns and ban the manufacturing of untraceable firearms. The decision to overhaul gun laws was opposed at the federal level with very few areas of bipartisan agreement.

Questions have been raised about the extent to which such terrible incidents of mass shootings can be averted by just changing the gun law. It conveys a message to countries like India to assess the existing gun laws as the maintenance of law and order becomes challenging at times.

Arms Law in the USA:

• Possession of arms is a constitutional right.
• The laws are less strict than in India.
• Gun ownership is easily obtained with restrictions imposed on certain cases.
• Firearms laws are administered by the state agencies and the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The local authorities have their own set of firearms laws. 
• The USA ranked 1st with 88.8 guns per 100 citizens. 

Arms Law in India:

• Possession of arms is just a privilege in India.
• The firearms laws are stringent and strict.
• Gun ownership/possession involves a cumbersome process.
• Indian Arms Act of 1959 and the Arms Rules of 1962 are governing laws for firearms throughout India.
• India ranked 110th in the world in terms of ownership of civilian firearms with only 4.2 guns per 100 citizens. This was reported by a survey called the Small Arms Survey.

Who opposes gun control?

Despite years of financial investigations and internal strife, the National Rifle Association (NRA) remains the most powerful gun lobby in the United States, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.

Due to pressure from Gun Lobby and some politicians, no strict law could ever be made against it.

This year, the US state of Georgia became the 25th in the nation to eliminate the need for a permit to conceal or openly carry a firearm.

The law was backed by the NRA, and leaders within the organisation called the move “a monumental moment for the Second Amendment”.