[World Says]US media: Ostrich-style gun control avoids the most important and ignores the most serious, and the result of gun violence in the United States is fatal

According to a report on the US website “Newsweek” on the 23rd, at around 10:15 pm local time on November 22nd, a mass shooting occurred at a Wal-Mart store in Chesapeake, Virginia, USA. The violence is the second high-profile mass shooting in the United States in the past week.

According to previous reports, three University of Virginia (University of Virginia) students were shot and killed on November 13 local time. A few days later, on November 19, a shooting occurred at a nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, killing five people and injuring several more. In the past week alone, at least 24 people have been killed and 37 injured in mass shootings in seven states, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

　Ostrich anti-gun

The US website “Capitol Hill” recently published a review article “We’re Going the Ostrich Way to Enforce Gun Laws: The Results Are Lethal.” The author uses the Missouri middle school shooting as an example to forcefully call for further tightening of gun control.

On the morning of October 24 local time, 19-year-old Orlando Harris (Orlando Harris) broke into the Central Visual and Performing Arts Middle School building with a rifle and several high-capacity magazines in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, killing a teacher and a 16-year-old student. In addition, seven other students between the ages of 15 and 16 were injured. The gunman was killed by police.

Police found Harris’ “suicide note”, in which he said he had no friends, family or social life. Harris graduated from the school last year and police suspected he had psychological issues and wanted to “let off steam”.

According to the U.S. record “Education Weekly,” the shooting is the 40th school shooting in the United States this year that has resulted in injuries or deaths. This year saw the most school shootings since the weekly began reporting in 2018, including the killing of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May by part of an 18-year-old gunman, killing 10 in the U.S. Deadliest school shooting in years.

The author pointed out that already 9 days before the St. Louis school shooting, the gunman’s mother asked the police for help, saying that her son was suspected of having psychological problems, and she hoped that the police could take him away the AR-style rifle from his son. Police, however, denied her request as she did not have “clear powers” at the time to confiscate the rifles.

The author finds it ridiculous that the US police are not allowed to use the background check system. Police were “blindfolded” even though they had good reason to suspect the person standing in front of them of illegally possessing a firearm, resulting in a tragedy in St. Louis and more deaths from gun violence.

The author argues that the growing loophole for private sales to bypass background check requirements makes it urgent to unblind police officers. A 2017 survey found that “22% of gun owners reported that their recent gun purchase did not require a background check.” the AR-style rifle he used from a private seller that didn’t require a background check. The authors also raise concerns that even people who initially pass background checks and acquire guns legally may later become illegal owners. For example, they were subject to a temporary restraining order, or were convicted of a felony, or were forcibly committed to a psychiatric institution. Most states lack a reliable system for confiscating firearms from people who no longer legally own them, even those who have just been convicted of a violent crime.

The article pointed out that millions of Americans illegally own guns due to the twin problems of loopholes in private sales and ex post disqualification. Some states periodically require drivers to retest their ability to safely operate a car, but most never retest if gun owners fall into a prohibited category. Especially in the United States, where all gun owners are not systematically screened, it is important to be able to do so when police officers have a reasonable suspicion that they are in possession of a gun illegally. America shouldn’t bury the heads of law enforcement in the sand.

　evasive and ambiguous answers

The police spokesman’s response to the death toll in the Wal-Mart supermarket shooting on the evening of the 22nd caused heated discussions among netizens.

Reporter Michelle Wolf (Michelle Wolf) posted on social platforms: “A Chesapeake City Police spokesman told us. At present, he believes the death toll does not exceed 10. It is unclear whether the gunman is a company employee. . The killer is now dead. Police are at the Walmart checking for casualties.”

In a video shared by Wolfe and others, however, Leo Kosinski of the Chesapeake Police Department used different words when asked about the death toll in the Walmart shooting.

The reporter asked, “You mean the multiple deaths (in the Wal-Mart shooting) relate to more than 5 people? Can you talk about that specifically?”

Kosinski replied, “I don’t know, I think it’s less than 10 now, which I think is pretty accurate — right now.”

According to Wolff, Kosinski replied that there were “no more than 10 victims”, a phrase that immediately sparked the indignation of angry people on social media.

“This is how we now describe mass shootings. Terrible,” communications strategist Sawyer Hackett wrote on Twitter.

News writer Max Burns (Max Burns) said on social platforms: “We didn’t use this kind of language that shows a complete failure to describe the mass shootings.”

Another tweeted: “So, ‘no more than 10’… don’t understand the reaction. Less than 10 dead, is that good news? Too many dead in one incident of gun violence. Very important phrase.”

So far, at least 3,179 people have been affected by mass shootings across the United States in 2022, leaving 637 dead and more than 2,500 injured. Data shows that there will be a total of 690 mass shootings in the United States in 2021. As of November 22 this year, there have been at least 607 mass shootings in the United States, and 2022 is still more than a month away. The number of mass shootings in the United States is likely to exceed 610 in 2020. . According to a CNN report on the 24th, data from the “Gun Violence Archive” (Gun Violence Archive) shows that 2022 could be the second most mass shooting year ever recorded in the United States.