Orlando Club Shooting Sparks Another Gun Control Debate
Gun Control to Be Discussed in Congress this Week
In the early hours of Sunday morning, a man killed 50 people at the Pulse Club in Orlando, Florida, and wounded another 53. Few details have been released following the event. Here are some things you should know about gun violence in the US.
Record-High Deaths
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 33,636 people died from guns in 2013, and prior to that -- from the year 2009, an average of 32,100 died yearly. Not all of these were results of homicide -- in fact, some of them are suicide.
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This is higher than the number of casualties in all the wars in American history, and definitely exceeds the number of people killed by terrorist attacks. About 1.4 million Americans were killed in major conflicts during the Revolutionary War whle 1.5 million were killed in gun-related incidents since 1968.
It is hard to pin down exactly how many mass shootings have happened in the country, but one thing is for sure -- gun death rate in the US is higher than that of other developed countries. Yet, the connection between gun laws and crime is still being debated on because gun rights activists argue that more guns in the hand of law-abiding citizens would mean less crime.
US Gun Laws in the Spotlight
More discussions about gun laws will take place in the senate and congress following the Orlando tragedy. The mass killings will dominate congress as lawmakers try to seek answers and responses in the wake of the attacks.
The summer legislative week, which was supposed to be devoted to Pentagon policy, has been changed to discuss gun policies. With President Barack Obama's last stretch during his term, he will have to have more serious talks with the senate regarding these laws.
Senator Christopher S. Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat and gun control advocate, said that America has become "complicit in these murders," calling for an act to limit gun availability.
Nebraska Republican Senator Ben Sasse, on the other hand, said that the killings showed a violent Islam, and these crimes should be defeated.
However, the biggest mass shootings in the US in recent times were not perpetuated by Muslims. Virginia Tech killer Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people in 2007, wasn't Muslim but a Korean-born citizen. Adam Lanza, who killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, was not a Muslim either but was a born and raised American who, at some point in his life, even attended Catholic school.
Omar Mateen, the perpetuator of the most recent Orlando club shooting, was an American-born Muslim -- so even if Donald Trump continues with his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US -- Mateen, like any other person in the nation who can legally purchase a firearm can kill with just a pull to the trigger.
Thus, the debate remains: should US put a ban on the purchase of firearms at the risk of limiting the Second Amendment, or should Americans keep their rights at the risk of losing more lives?
