We woke up to the breaking news story of a man and a woman suspected of taking part in Wednesday’s mass shooting spree that left 14 people dead and another 17 wounded at a social services center hosting a Christmas party in Southern California killed in a shoot-out with police hours later.
Not surprising for a society where there is a gun for roughly every man, woman and child.
The shooting has invariably re-ignited gun-control debate and President Barack Obama’s plea to Congress for tougher gun-control measures after three people were killed at a family-planning center in Colorado.
In October, an armed man killed nine people at a college in Oregon, and in June, a white attacker killed nine black churchgoers in South Carolina.
Sadly, shooting incidents appear to have become a daily ritual in America. According to shootingtracker.com so far this year, there have been more than 381 shootings in the US resulting in countless loss of lives.
It however looks like nothing can be done about this because the US Constitution dating from 1787, guarantees Americans the right to bear arms, a cherished freedom that has great resonance with many voters. It reads: “A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” which was ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, then-Secretary of State. However, the relevance of this amendment in modern times remains in doubt especially when it was promulgated at the time the US did not have its own army. During the revolutionary war, each colony relied upon a local militia made up of part-time civilians and self-defense was a common necessity.
This I find sarcastic because America prides itself as a modern and free society, yet protects 17th century laws that no longer have a place in today’s society. There is certainly no need to bear arms today, when America has the most sophisticated military force in the world.
Constitutional amendments have been passed in the past, including to widen the vote to women and black citizens but an amendment on gun-control has been thorny largely because there is an effective, well-funded and politically powerful Gun Rights lobby groups like the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the US. Congress enacted a law in 2005 under heavy lobbying from the NRA and the gun industry that gives gun manufacturers and dealers broad immunity from being sued. The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) shields the gun industry even when it makes guns that are unnecessarily dangerous and sells them recklessly.
Gun Rights Lobbyist have a political advantage because in America, an amendment can only be passed by a two-thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by ratification by three quarters of state legislatures – an unlikely turnout with pro-Gun Rights Republican dominance in the Congress. A gun violence task force was created and 12 congressional actions were proposed that would have introduced background checks on firearms purchases, a ban on assault weapons and limits on magazine capacity but when the legislation was introduced in the 113th Congress it was defeated by the Senate. Although some Democrats in conservative states have been known to oppose gun controls, the main drive against them comes from Republicans.
Pro – Gun Rights Lobbyist have a financial advantage over Gun Control Groups because the National Rifle Association (NRA) alone has almost five million members pouring money into its Political Victory Fund to help elect pro-gun politicians. The NRA known for its unofficial slogan “guns don’t kill people, people kill people”, champions itself as a “major political force”. It founded the Institute for Legislative Action in 1975 specifically to lobby representatives to prevent gun control legislation. They also enjoy annual funding from Gun Manufacturers who have sold out over 300 million guns to private citizens in the US. Domestic gun sales in 2012 stood at about 11 billion dollars and exports to other countries like Canada and Australia stood at 4.4 billion dollars. This year, the industry is expected to rack up a steady $11.7 billion in sales and $993 million in profits, according to analysts at IBIS World. Gun makers churned out nearly six million guns last year — double the number that they did a decade ago.
In almost every democracy, when you have political and financial roots, you are hardly touchable.
By: Adib Saani
(International Relations Expert, I-ZAR Consult)