Why do Americans have such easy access to firearms? – NRK Urix – Foreign news and documentaries

Are you wondering about American gun use? Our experts answered a number of questions.

Among others:

Why are there so many shootings in the United States?

Eirik Løkke, advisor in Civita:

That’s a good question. And many are wondering. And there are probably several reasons. Let me point out some reasons.

1. The availability of weapons. Small arms and automatic weapons are available for many to buy legally.
2. Mental health. We do not know the background of the killer in Texas, but it seems obvious that in many cases these incidents were triggered by people with mental health problems. You could say that must be the case – because “normal” people do not do such things. But the United States, and many states in the United States, have challenges with access to help for mental challenges. And that in combination with access to weapons is not a good combination.
3. A third cause is the “copycat” syndrome. The fact that such shooting incidents occur so often can help to “normalize” (for lack of better words) these incidents. Disturbed people can observe the attention school killings give in the United States and it lowers the threshold for doing the same.

Why can Americans own guns?

Eirik Løkke, advisor in Civita:

Det er en grunnlovsfestet rett i USA. Fra det andre grunnlovstillegget: «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.»

Of course, this does not mean that there are no restrictions. They exist – and are practiced differently in different states. The Supreme Court has also ruled in a judgment that this constitutional amendment entails an individual right to bear arms.

What does it take to change the gun rules in the constitution?

Hallvard Notaker, senior researcher at the Department of Defense Studies:

Formally, it is easy to answer: The constitutional supplements are changed in the same way as the constitution otherwise – through a new supplement. Then first 2/3 of both the House of Representatives and the Senate must vote in favor, and then 3/4 of the states must vote in favor (the vote is then in the states’ elected assemblies).

In practice, this means that it is only possible to adopt changes that have support in some very different parts of the country and population groups. To put it mildly, it seems unlikely in the matter of weapons. In that case, not only did there have to be a change of mood, for example in the face of gruesome news as today, but a profound cultural change that changed the symbolic role of weapons and private ownership of such players in large parts of the United States.

The most likely way to change the meaning of a constitutional amendment is by the Supreme Court changing its interpretation of what is written there. With the current composition of the Supreme Court, it is unlikely that there will be a tightening in the interpretation of the right to bear arms.

Read all the questions and answers below.