We are shocked at the news that at least 29 people were killed in two separate mass shooting incidents in federal states of Ohio and Texas in USA on Saturday. Of them, 20 were killed in Texas border town El Paso and nine in Oregon District in Ohio.
Among the possibilities being investigated is whether it was a hate crime. Along with gun violence, racism and white supremacy is also on the rise, with some political leaders openly spouting hate speech on media. Democrats and Republicans have failed to come to any consensus regarding the debate around gun control.
The issue is particularly complex as the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the individual right to keep and bear arms. Republicans repeatedly claim that any attempt to regulate guns would be in direct violation to the second amendment.
On the other hand, Democrats, quite sensibly demand universal background checks, “red flag” laws permitting family or friends to temporally remove guns from individuals deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, and assault weapons bans.
The shooting in Texas is the 21st mass
killing in the United States in 2019,
and the fifth public mass shooting
However, the issue is no longer centered on simply the issue of gun violence, but the rise in racial tensions across the US.
The attacks have come just weeks after 4 US-born congresswomen of colour were told to go back to their ‘own countries’. It is therefore not surprising, that hate crimes and white supremacist terrorism has gone up.
The shooting in Texas is the 21st mass killing in the United States in 2019, and the fifth public mass shooting. Before Saturday, 96 people had died in mass killings in 2019 — 26 of them in public mass shootings. We express our condolences to the victims’ friends and families.