More than 300 millions civilians in the United States own guns under the legal protection of an old amendment, which advocates the right of people to keep and bear arms.
Almost 200 years later, and out of its original time frame, the powerful National Rifle Association still backs the sale of all kind of weapons following Thomas Jefferson’s slogan: “No free man should ever be debarred the use of arms.”
The well-known Second Amendment to the United Sates Constitution, which was first drawn during the insurrection times, has become the legal cover for all people who own revolvers, pistols and semi-automatic rifles.
A crazy man disguised as Batman shooting in a movie theater and a neo-Nazi extremist firing his gun inside a mosque, have been the protagonists of the latest, gun-related bloody episodes in the United States, a country that seems to be in the middle of a deaf war.
Although killing people using all kind of devices especially firearms have become regular in the US, theses events always stun and terrify citizens.
Last year, 12 000 US citizens were victims of accidental or intentional shootings. This figure widely exceeds the casualties in Iraq. However, no one dares to put an end to arms sales, because that would mean to face the National Rifle Association, whose lobby is powerful enough to overthrow politicians.
The truth is that the right to carry weapons also gives US citizens the possibility of using them and even to kill innocent people.
