The US President called for an end to the “epidemic of gun violence” on Tuesday, the US national holiday, exactly a year to the day after a shooting at a parade and a day after two new murders.
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“As our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray that our people remain free from gun violence,” Joe Biden said in a statement.
Last year, during a parade organized to mark the Fourth of July National Day near Chicago, Illinois, a man opened fire, killing seven people and injuring dozens and turning “this day of patriotic pride” into a “tragedy ‘ Mr Biden recalled.
A new shooting erupted on the streets of Philadelphia, northeastern United States, on Monday night, killing at least four people and injuring two children, police said. She announced that she had arrested the alleged perpetrator. According to US media, a fifth person was also found dead.
In southern Texas, three people were killed by gunfire and eight people injured at a party on the eve of Independence Day celebrations in Forth Worth Monday night, local press reported.
A few days earlier, two people were killed and 28 others injured by gunfire at a block party in Baltimore on the east coast of the United States.
In the face of this “wave” of killings, the Democratic president again called for a strong response to curb “this epidemic of gun violence.”
Welcoming the recent implementation of a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines in the state of Illinois, Joe Biden called for this to be done across the country and go further, specifically by “ending impunity for gun manufacturers” or even by the Introduction of “general background checks” of buyers.
“I urge other states to follow Illinois’ example,” he said, urging Republican congressmen again to work on “common sense reforms.”
AFP
A call that, however, has little chance of success because the Republicans, who control the House of Representatives, vehemently reject such measures.
With more guns than people, the United States has the highest death rate from guns of any developed country. Overall, more than 44,000 people died in 2022, with about 24,000 committing suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive.