The week
America has many weapons to prevent massive armed violence, research suggests
Armed violence was again in the news after consecutive shootings in which two gunmen murdered 18 people in Boulder, Colorado, and around Atlanta. The two massacres broke a period of approximately a year without high-profile mass shootings, but Americans were still dying from gunshots during the pandemic, and “at a record rate,” reported Reis Thebault and Danielle Rindler in The Washington Post. “In 2020, armed violence killed almost 20,000 Americans” and wounded about 40,000 more, and “another 24,000 people died of suicide with a gun”. At first glance, mass shootings practically disappeared during the pandemic. But don’t be fooled.pic.twitter.com/7th6urswrH – Jacob Ward (@byjacobward) March 25, 2021 The reason the US has so much armed violence – and more than any other comparable country – is quite obvious and maddening intractable: Americans own about 45% of the world’s civilian firearms. And they bought another 23 million in 2020, a 64% increase over sales in 2019. We deserve to live in a country with fewer weapons and, as a result, safer communities. pic.twitter.com/oS2qD9eLAi – igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) March 24, 2021 The United States “could reduce the death toll, perhaps substantially, if they so wished,” writes David Leonhardt in The New York Times. “It’s not just that every other high-income country in the world has far fewer firearms and far fewer deaths from firearms. Also the states of the USA with less weapons – like California, Illinois, Iowa and much of the Northeast – have fewer deaths by firearms. And when state or local governments restrict access to weapons, deaths generally decrease, “according to research by Michael Siegel of Boston University.” The United States has average levels of non-lethal violence compared to our counterparts. “Also, said Daniel Webster, of the Johns Hopkins Center for Armed Violence Prevention and Policy, to the Politician.” What sets us apart is that our violence is much more lethal because it most commonly involves someone with a firearm. ” overwhelming evidence that this country has a unique problem with armed violence, mainly because it has a unique availability of weapons, “adds Leonhardt.” Many of the policies that experts say would reduce firearm deaths – such as requiring gun licenses and background checks – would likely affect both mass shootings and the bigger problem, “he adds, but Republicans will safely obstruct any er bill to approve such changes, suggesting that on a deeper level, “the level of armed violence in this country is as high as it is because many Americans have decided they are okay with it.” More stories from theweek.comE Biden is preparing Harris for failure? 5 extremely funny cartoons about spring break superspreads. A pro-Trump evangelical advised to get the COVID-19 vaccine. His fans revolted.