By: Ben Thrussell
Granted, in his first term, Mr President had more complex
and worrying situations to deal with: the global recession needed to be solved,
as did the extreme poverty that followed it. However, in his second term he
promised that he would tackle guns, introduce gun control and end the madness
that has overshadowed a successful presidency that introduced a functioning,
affordable health service.
Unfortunately for him, Mr Obama has faced considerable
opposition to gun laws from Republicans and Democrats alike. Many agree that
weapon control is unambiguously unconstitutional, going against the Second
Amendment which states that all citizens “have the right to bear arms”. Clearly
this was not a piece of legislation that foresaw the development of
semi-automatic machine guns but, with the continued threat of terrorism, this
law has no place in the 21st century.
It is a great shame that Mr Obama has not been able to pass
gun legislation through the Congress, but Congress is a tough egg to crack. On
average, the US Congress has an approval rating of just 15%; that is, only 15%
of bills and legislation proposed actually make it to the White House to be
signed into law by the President.
What makes it more difficult is that this legislation would
be a constitutional amendment. This requires a 2/3 majority in the House of
Representatives, a 2/3 majority in the Senate, and then requires the
ratification of ¾ states (38/50). The final requirement is for the Supreme
Court, whose job it is to make sure all proposed legislation is constitutional,
to accept this. Until the Second Amendment is repealed, nobody will be able to
do much about gun control.
Whereas in Britain an amendment to the Constitution requires
only a simple Act of Parliament, maybe a referendum as well, the US Government
must receive the support of 38 states. This is unlikely as the Southern states
of Texas, Alabama, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia are
all highly unlikely to vote for gun law. This means that only five other states
need to vote against the bill to reject it entirely.
Since he came to office in 2009, Mr Obama has faced two of
the most heart-breaking gun crimes that could possibly have happened. The Sandy
Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 reduced the President to tears in his
press conference following the attack, where 20 students were shot dead. The
Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016 was described by the President as being “a
horrific massacre”, but he is still unable to do much about it.
The USA has let gun crime get out of control, and is
beginning to make the country look chaotic. If it carries on for much longer,
gun crime will tarnish the US reputation for peace and liberty. It could have
economic knock-on effects due to a drop in tourism, and could bring into
question the success of the Obama presidency. Most Britons are appalled by the
regular occurrence of such massacres, and have a small feeling of embarrassment
for the US every time it happens. The USA needs some sort of gun control, and
it needs it now.
Why Can't the USA Control Gun Crime?
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