Do the President of the United States It is one of most dangerous jobs in the world: from the 45 people who have played this role so far, 4that is, almost 10%, were killed in the course of a gun attack while they were in office, and 4 more (therefore it rises to almost 20%) have suffered one or more attacksbut they survived. All this without taking into account the attacks on presidential candidates like Bob Kennedy or Donald Trump. On the other hand, presidents aside, consider that in 2022 in the United States there have been almost 50,000 victims from firearms. A figure that should not surprise us, given that the country with stars and stripes is the one in which the most firearms circulate in the world: they are approximately 390 millionas also emerged during our interview with Francesco Costa. In this article and in the video above we delve into the problem of guns in the USA. In particular, why do Americans continue to buy them despite the high number of victims?
How many guns are there in the United States and what types?
In the United States there are more firearms than inhabitants. It is estimated that there are over 390 million weapons, compared to 330-340 million citizens. Moreover, we are talking about estimates Why There is no national register of firearms, so the central administration does not know exactly who owns the weapons and in what quantities.
On the other hand, in some of the 50 states that make up the USA there is a gun registry and, in general, various surveys and valid estimates have been made. What emerges is that the distribution of weapons is not uniform neither at a territorial level nor in demographic terms. About the 30% of US adults personally owns a firearm, but most of the 390 million guns are concentrated in the hands of a small minority. In particular, half is owned by only about 3% of Americans. So there are few people who have real arsenals at home.
What weapons are we talking about? 70% of cases of pistols. However, there are also many in circulation riflesboth repeating and assault rifles, such as the AR-15, used in the attack on Trump. There is no shortage of automatic weaponswhich are however rarer because they are subject to severe restrictions.
How much does it cost to buy a gun? It depends on various factors, especially the model: it ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. Moreover, this variety of weapons reflects the different reasons why Americans decide to buy them: from personal defense to hunting, from collecting to sport shooting.
Requirements to buy a gun in the USA
In the US, guns can be purchased in many different places and it is often very easy and quick to buy them. Specialty gun shops are widespread and require a quick online criminal background check by the seller; then there are the exhibitionswhich are held regularly in many cities and during which controls are often much more lenient. In some states it is possible to buy pistols and rifles onlinewith delivery however still taking place at authorised retailers. You can then do private sales of weapons and finally in some states some retail chains and supermarkets they sell, depending on the case, certain types of weapons and even provide some automatic ammunition dispensers.
It takes a license to buy guns in the United States? It depends on many factors: the type of gun, the state you live in, the place where you make the purchase. Generally speaking, you must present a valid ID, be over 18 or 21 years of age and, in some cases, pass a criminal background check. However, there are states, such as Texaswhere you can walk around the street with your gun out of sight without the need for a gun license. In Californiainstead, purchasing a weapon requires a series of steps including its registration and a waiting period of 10 days. In short, the gun laws vary significantly among different US states.
The Importance of Guns in American History and Culture
How is it possible that this is so? simple get guns in the US? It’s simple: the right to own them is even enshrined in the Second Amendment to the Constitutionalthough it is still subject to interpretation. The culture of weapons is in fact deeply rooted in the US history. During colonization of North Americaweapons were essential for survival, personal defense and also unfortunately for the extermination of the natives. They then played a crucial role in the war of independence against the United Kingdom. In short, the firearm is a symbol of independence and freedom and is deeply part of thenational identity.
There are therefore few politicians who advocate a strong reduction in the sale of weapons and the withdrawal of many of those in circulation. conservatives generally support the right to own them, while the progressives They only aim for greater control and stricter rules.
It is no coincidence that the National Rifle Association (NRA in acronym and in Italian “National Rifle Association”) is one of the lobby most powerful and influential in the United States. It was founded in 1871is strongly opposed to any form of gun control and through various types of activities and funding influences US politics. In 2016, for example, it spent approximately 30 million dollars to support Donald Trump’s election campaign.
Data on gun deaths and injuries in the US
In the 2022it is estimated that over 48,000 people have died in the United States from gunshot wounds. This number includes homicides, accidents, mass shootingsincluding unfortunately the terrible ones in schools, but mostly suicides. As regards the murderson the other hand, it is striking to note that, among young people, the men they have a mortality rate from a firearm 25 times higher to that of women and that, among men, African Americans they have a rate 12 times higher to that of the whites.
Let’s now turn to the presidents: in the history of the United States, four have been assassinated by firearms: Abraham Lincoln in 1865, James Garfield in 1881, William McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy in 1963. There have also been several failed or foiled assassination attempts against presidents. Ronald Reagan He was seriously injured in an attack in 1981 and before him there were attacks against Harry Truman, Gerald Ford twice and Richard Nixon.
Then there are various famous people who died by gunshots, from musicians like John Lennon And Tupac to civil rights activists such as Martin Luther King And Malcolm X.
Can the gun problem in America be solved?
At this point, someone might wonder if it is not possible to solve the problem at the rootby no longer selling weapons or by imposing much more severe rules and in some way asking for the return of weapons already in circulation. It is partly true that a good portion of Americans would be in favor of introducing stricter rules and that other people have surrendered their weapons in exchange for money in some targeted and localized campaigns. However, there are not so many citizens who would eliminate the sale of weapons altogether, precisely because of what they represent for American history and culture.
That said, even if the sale of weapons were suddenly blocked, we would still have almost 400 million weapons aroundwithout a federal registry indicating who owns them and in what quantities. And so how could one actually go about recovering them? But again: even if such a registry existed, confiscating the weapons would be a very dangerous act of force since we are talking about a country where the violencealso due to firearms, is widespread and high. To be clear, the weapons are in the hands of not only private citizens, but also bands, extremist paramilitary groups he was born in organized crime. In short, trying to recover them by force would risk causing numerous clashes and casualties, without having the guarantee of solving the problem.
So, to conclude, at the moment it is it is difficult to imagine a solution to the issue: alongside more restrictive rules, a change in mentality and therefore in culture would be necessary, which however would require time and significant investments in education.
