Shooting for safety

US badly needs stricter gun-control laws

The bullet that nicked the tip of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s right ear on Saturday has created political turmoil in the campaign for the United States’ (US’) highest office. But as the two parties and presidential candidates seek to calm a deeply polarised nation, their leaders are exchanging heated rhetoric over political responsibility; whether the Democrats’ description of Mr Trump as an existential threat to America provoked a registered Republican to attempt to assassinate him. Missing in this war of words is the key issue embedded in this incident: The urgent need for more stringent gun controls. Disturbing facts reveal the 20-year-old high-school graduate and kitchen worker who shot at Mr Trump, killed a supporter, and injured others had deployed the civilian version of an assault rifle that is widely used by the US military. The rifle was owned by his father but the assassin was a member of a premier shooting club where he practised. His brief story indicates the deeply ingrained gun culture in American society.

With the sharp rise in mass shootings in the US and a rising number of gun-related deaths (including murders and suicides), the question of gun control remains one of the many issues sharply dividing Democrats and Republicans. The latter are inclined to stand on the right to bear arms guaranteed in the second amendment. According to the Pew Research Centre, 32 per cent of US adults say they personally own a gun, and over 40 per cent live in households that have guns. Most say they keep a gun for personal protection. More to the point, guns of almost any type from military-style rifles, with repeater stocks, to revolvers are available to American citizens over the counter. For most Americans, buying a gun is a process that takes less than an hour, involving instant online background checks. In response to growing outrage over gun deaths, President Joe Biden has proposed gun-policy legislation that would expand on a bipartisan gun safety Bill Congress passed last year. In April this year, his administration passed a rule requiring firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and outside brick-and-mortar stores. The aim was to close a loophole that enabled unlicensed dealers to sell firearms without the requisite checks.

Though the rule goes some way towards slowing gun sales, it does not address the basic issue of widespread gun ownership, which enables seemingly harmless young people from accessing and deploying weapons. The issue is complicated by the fact that the National Rifles Association (NRA), a powerful and well-funded gun rights advocacy group, has long been one of the largest financiers of the Republican Party. In May this year, the NRA officially endorsed Mr Trump’s candidacy. In return, Mr Trump vowed to protect gun rights. Yet the issue has rarely been at the forefront of political campaigns. This, although gun-related deaths almost doubled to over 600 a year between 2020 and 2022. It is unclear whether an assassination attempt on the Republican presidential candidate by a registered Republican who donated to a Democratic political action committee will change the Republican Party’s visceral opposition to gun controls. In fact, with Mr Trump’s electoral chances immeasurably improved with the assassination attempt, the issue is likely to recede into the background until the next tragedy.