December 27 – According to U.S. media reports, a year ago, supporters of gun violence prevention hoped that Biden would make progress in gun control after taking office as President of the United States. However, as Biden’s first year in office is coming to an end, they are disappointed with the president.
Supporters say Biden’s response to the recent school shooting in Michigan did not meet expectations. On November 30, Oxford High School in Michigan, the deadliest campus shooting in the United States this year. A sophomore shot and killed four students and injured seven others at school.
On November 30, local time, a campus shooting occurred at Oxford High School in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, USA. The picture shows many students gathering in Major’s parking lot waiting for their parents.
Shockingly, just a few days after the shooting, Republican Representative Thomas Marcy of Kentucky posted a gun-armed version of the “family photo” on social media, which caused widespread criticism.
In Congress, gun control efforts also face resistance from Republicans. After the shooting, Senate Democrats tried to expand the background check on gun sales through legislation, but were blocked by Republicans and eventually failed in the Senate.
“I think it is most important to emphasize here that the president has always been a friend of this year’s gun violence prevention (GVP) campaign, for which we are grateful, but frankly, he is not a real leader,” said Zinet Yahya, deputy director of the policy of “Fighting for our lives”.
“We are absolutely surprised. We are really hopeful. He has also made a lot of promises. We thank the president for some actions he has taken, but he can do more, which is a comprehensive top-down approach.
Supporters hope Biden will put more pressure on Congress to take action on gun violence. At present, the Democratic Republican Party is divided in the Senate, which is a major obstacle. Supporters of gun violence prevention admitted that there were political obstacles in Congress, but still expressed disappointment with Biden.
However, Staf Feldman, a senior adviser to the White House’s domestic policy adviser, refuted criticism of the government’s lack of a comprehensive gun control strategy, saying that “the comprehensive strategy is exactly what we did in 2021 and we will continue to implement it in the new year”.
It is reported that gun violence has always been a national epidemic in the United States. According to FBI data, the number of murders in the United States rose by 30% to 21,570 in 2020. 77% of murders are related to firearms.
According to the U.S. Gun Violence Archives website, since 2016, more than 230,000 people have died of gun violence in the United States, and 193,000 people have been injured in gun violence.
According to analysts, the United States has basically not passed any meaningful gun control bills for more than 20 years. The difficulty of gun control is closely related to the sharp opposition between the two parties in the U.S. Congress, and interest groups representing gun manufacturing and trading have long penetrated into all aspects of American political life.
