The Cycle of Increasing Gun Violence in America Must Be Broken

Published in Mainichi Shimbun
(Japan) on 7 June 2021
by (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by David Good. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
Gun violence in America is rapidly increasing.

Last month in Florida, three men indiscriminately opened fire on a crowd of young people, leaving many injured and killed. In South Carolina, another mass shooting killed a 14-year-old girl and injured more than a dozen people.

Since the beginning of this year, the number of gun-related deaths from homicides and accidents have exceeded 8,300. That is a rate of more than 50 victims per day, surpassing last year’s pace, which was the highest in recent years. This is an extremely serious state of affairs.

Particularly surprising is the fact that there have already been more than 120 victims aged 11 and younger. These deaths include accidents where children were playing with guns as well as instances where they were caught up in shootings. It is heartbreaking that innocent children are so routinely losing their lives to guns.

It’s thought that the COVID-19 pandemic is a factor behind this surge in gun violence. Last year, as the pandemic spread, the number of gun victims increased by about 30% from the previous year. It can’t be denied that some may have been pushed toward violence by feelings of depression.

Due to the decline in public safety, more people purchased guns for self-defense, and last year saw the highest number of gun sales on record. Additionally, the circulation of a large quantity of ”ghost guns,” which are assembled from prefabricated parts and lack any way to identify the owner, facilitated crime.

This snowballing effect of an increasing number of guns which are flooding American society forms a vicious cycle. It’s said that the number of guns in America has now reached 400 million, a number exceeding the entire American population. Something must be done to break this cycle and stop gun violence.

Most Americans acknowledge that gun violence is a serious problem. However, opinion is split regarding how to respond to the issue.

The majority Democratic Party wants to strengthen regulations to reduce crime. The minority Republican Party contends that if regulations are strengthened, people may lose the means to defend themselves.

The U.S. Constitution allows citizens to own guns. However, it must be remembered that this is for self-defense. The current situation of assault weapons flooding American cities goes far beyond self-defense.

Meeting force with force only contributes to America’s gun culture. Strengthen regulations so that such deadly guns are not easy to obtain. Make background checks stricter, and prevent illegal sales. Such policies are clearly needed.

No democratic nation other than America has this amount of gun violence. It’s no wonder that President Joe Biden recognized it as “an international embarrassment.” If you are going to preach about the value of human life and human rights to the rest of the world, you must first solve your own problems.





米国で銃犯罪が急増している。

先月にはフロリダ州で若者の集団に男3人が銃を乱射し、多くの死傷者が出た。サウスカロライナ州でも乱射事件があり、14歳の少女が死亡し、十数人が負傷した。

今年に入って銃による殺人や事故での死者は8300人を超える。日々50人以上が犠牲になっている計算で、近年で最多だった昨年のペースを上回る。極めて深刻な状況だ。

驚くのは、11歳以下の死者がすでに120人を超えていることだ。銃で遊んでいたり、銃撃に巻き込まれたりしたという。いたいけな子供の命が日常的に奪われる現実に胸が痛む。

急増の背景には、新型コロナウイルスの流行があるとされる。感染が拡大した昨年は、銃による犠牲者が前年より3割近く増えた。鬱屈した心情から暴力に駆り立てられたおそれは否定できない。

治安の悪化から護身用に銃を買う人が増え、昨年の販売数は過去最高を記録したという。所有者を特定できない「ゴーストガン」と呼ばれる組み立て式の銃が大量に流通し、犯罪に拍車をかけた。

雪だるま式に銃が増え、米国社会に氾濫する悪循環の構図だ。今や人口を超える4億丁に達するという。負の連鎖を断ち切り、犯罪を抑え込んでいくことが急務だ。

米国民の多くは銃犯罪を深刻な問題と受け止めている。だが、対応をめぐっては意見が分かれる。

与党の民主党は規制の強化で犯罪を減らそうと考える。野党の共和党は規制を強めれば命を守る手段を失いかねないと主張する。

米国の憲法は市民に銃の所持を認めている。ただし目的はあくまで自衛だ。高速連射式の攻撃的な銃が市中にあふれる現状は、自衛の域をはるかに超えている。

力には力で」の対応では、銃社会は膨張するばかりだ。殺傷力の高い銃が容易に手に入らないように規制を強める。購入者の身元確認をより厳しくし、違法な売買を防ぐ。こうした方策が必要ではないか。

これほど銃犯罪が多い民主主義国は米国を除いて他にない。バイデン大統領が「国際的な恥」と認めるのは当然だろう。人命と人権の大切さを世界に説くなら、まず足元の課題を解決すべきだ。
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

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