Displaying items by tag: gun lobby

On 24 May, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Texas, armed with a handgun and a rifle. He killed nineteen pupils and two teachers before he himself was shot dead. This was the deadliest school attack for a decade. Amid the outpouring of shock and grief, Joe Biden asked, ‘Why do we keep letting this happen? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?’ This tragedy has reignited the debate about guns, particularly since there had already been 27 other school shootings this year. Since his election, the president has made a number of pledges to tighten legislation, but he faces an uphill battle to convert any of them into action, given the fierce opposition from the Republicans and the powerful gun lobby.

Donald Trump wants to impose a temporary ban on access to the USA from seven Muslim nations. 9/11 Islamists were mostly Saudi Arabian (not on his list). Some statistics indicate that guns, not Islamism, are the biggest killer of Americans. Annual figures for unnatural deaths in America are: Islamic jihadists - 2; far-right Caucasian terrorists - 5; US-born Islamic jihadists - 9; toddlers playing with a gun - 21; lightning strikes - 31; lawnmower accidents - 69; hit by a bus - 26; shot by a fellow American - 11,737. Many believe that the efforts of conservative Republicans to ‘protect Americans’ are at best misplaced and at worst deceived. The gun lobby is seemingly unquestioned and manages to avoid the spotlight even when there is a mass shooting. Many say the gun lobby, like the fossil fuel lobby, has been pulling strings of successive US governments. Pray for the Trump administration to look again at the issue of guns.