08.08.2019
The latest El Paso (Texas) and Dayton (Ohio) massacres have just rekindled the never-ending debate on the use and legality of firearms in the United States. The Second Amendment, ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, of the U.S. Constitution reads: “(…) being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed”. This amendment, like the rest contained in the Constitution, has become intrinsic to the North American culture even today and despite the controversies arising from this constitutional right, which so far has caused so many deaths either by murder or suicide that it turns out almost impossible to find a consensus on the exact numbers. For instance, Mother Jones has collected a database with around 115 mass shootings since 1982, but this excludes shootings stemming from armed robbery or gang violence.
According to the non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive, however, the number of mass shootings in 2019 has so far been higher than the days of the year: counting every incident in which at least 4 victims were shot and/or killed, only in 2019 there have been 255 mass shootings in the U.S. The fatalities resulting from these 255 massacres rise up to 273, while there have been at least 1,067 injured.
Mother Jones estimates that of all the guns used to perpetrate these crimes, more than three quarters were obtained legally, and they mostly included high-capacity assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns. In most cases, the killers were white males who had already displayed some sort of mental disorder before setting out to kill. This adds up to the fact that, in general, firearms are relatively cheap: while an assault rifle costs around $1,500 (similar to a Macbook), a handgun can be purchased for as little as $200, which would be the price of an average laptop.
Nonetheless, mass shootings account for a very small portion of the total gun deaths. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a total of 39,773 deaths by firearm in 2017, around 14,500 of which were intentional homicides while around 23,800 were suicides. As a matter of fact, a 2016 study conducted by the American Journal of Public Health found that there is a strong relationship between high levels of gun ownership in a country and higher rates of suicide, while state-level firearm ownership typically leads to a decrease in non firearm-related suicides.
It is a well-known fact that despite all this, firearms conform a great part of the U.S. American culture. According to a 2017 study, about 42% of adults admitted they owned a gun, while 11% said they lived with someone who owned one. In addition, 72% of adults have claimed to have shot a firearm at some point in their lives. Thus, it is not surprising that the U.S. is the country with the largest number of small arms per inhabitant.
The fact that mass shootings have increased both in number and intensity—the 2017 Las Vegas massacre was the deadliest one in recent U.S. history, while eight of the most fatal shootings have happened during the last 10 years—has led thousands of Americans to claim for a stricter legislation on guns, although most (or at least those in power) still oppose bans and restrictions on the purchase and distribution of firearms. However, many States have already implemented some restrictions on guns; for instance, California, the State with the highest rates of firearm deaths, has banned many models of assault weapons, and similar laws have been implemented in other States such as Washington DC, Massachusetts, and New York.
Both Democrats and Republicans agree on setting restrictions or completely banning the possibility to purchase firearms for mentally ill people and people on no-fly and watch lists, and thus the main debate is centered on their confronted opinions on two fundamental aspects of the gun culture: allowing teachers to carry guns in schools and allowing concealed carry in more public places (i.e. increasing the number of places in which people can carry a weapon in a hidden manner).
Despite the efforts of progressive politicians to reduce and restrict the distribution of firearms, the National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the most powerful lobby groups in the U.S., plays a fundamental role in the American policy-making. With an increased, extremely high budget to lobby, the NRA has constantly influenced members of Congress to prevent them from restricting the existing gun policy. In addition, it also deploys millions of dollars to support the election campaigns of Republican candidates who will most likely oppose gun control policies.
Gun violence also has substantial effects on local (and national) economies. The gun industry is one of the most profitable ones in the U.S., especially in the aftermath of a mass shooting when more and more people decide to purchase weapons for the sake of ‘feeling safe’. Yet there is no doubt about the fact that more guns do not make more safety—it is rather the other way around. As a matter of fact, the costs of gun violence account for a high portion of the national GDP, which is translated into billions of dollars annually. For instance, back in 2012, an investigation showed that these costs were as high as $229 billion, that is, 1.4% of the total GDP. To put this in a more illustrative context, at the time of this investigation, $229bn were the equivalent of Portugal’s economy. These costs of course include emergency care and hospital charges, police investigations, court proceedings, and jail costs. Besides affecting the national economy, gun violence can have extremely negative consequences in the neighborhoods in which the use of firearms has somewhat been normalized. Here, gun violence drives depopulation, discourages business and decreases property values.
In a country founded on capitalism, it seems that the profits of the gun industry outweigh the losses, which are not only financial but also physical: the gun industry costs lives. It is perhaps easy to forget how many people have been shot during the last decades, but it is impossible to ignore the news when every day there is a new reported death caused by a legally-acquired firearm.
America, the home of the brave… How many more lives still need to be taken before human life is prioritized over money?
