Xinhua
26 May 2022, 21:05 GMT+10
It seems every U.S. politician asks or is asked the question in the wake of every mass shooting, but their answers have always been prepared along the party line.
At the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, both spoke on the 50-50 Senate floor following the Uvalde school shooting.
Schumer called on Republicans to pass pro-gun control legislation to help end "the plague of gun violence that has taken over this country," while McConnell put the blame clearly on the 18-year-old gunman, describing him as "deranged" and "maniac."
The top Senate Democrat didn't mention the shooter's possible mental health issue, and the top Senate Republican didn't mention the shooter's easy access to high-powered weapons, let alone any preventative legislative solutions.
The U.S. Congress has failed to pass any major gun control laws in more than two decades. Even though the legislation had majority support, it failed under Senate filibuster rules.
A similar but possibly more dramatic scenario took place at a press conference held by Texan leaders in Uvalde on Wednesday.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican seeking reelection this year, also placed the blame for the shooting on mental illness, though he admitted that the gunman, who was killed by law enforcement on the scene, had no known mental health history.
"Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period. We as a government need to find a way to target that mental health challenge and do something about it," Abbott said at the press conference, downplaying concerns about an 18-year-old's ability to purchase firearms.
"This is totally predictable," Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke yelled at the governor, angrily interrupting the press conference and being led away by officers.
"This is on you," O'Rourke told Abbott. "The time to stop the next shooting is now, and you are doing nothing."
In response, the governor, who had signed a law last year allowing Texans over 21 to legally carry handguns without needing a license, called on people to "put aside personal agendas," implying that O'Rourke's interruption was behind political motives.
Fierce partisan fights make Biden's plea for action against rampant gun violence across the country seem like "weak tea," local analysts said.
The United States has seen at least 212 mass shootings so far this year, according to the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive. As of Tuesday, over 31,300 people have died or been injured due to gun-related incidents in the country this year.
The Uvalde shooting isn't likely to meaningfully change the status quo, said a VOX report.
"By doing nothing to prevent gun violence, (our) nation chooses this pain," said an editorial published by the San Antonio Express-News.
Get a daily dose of Orange County Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Orange County Sun.
More InformationThe London Royal Ravens and New York Subliners each claimed victories on Saturday, becoming the first squads to reach 3-0 ...
Tyler Anderson was in control into the seventh inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers got off to a fast start ...
© Provided by Xinhua BEIJING, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Ministries in China have rolled out a raft of supportive policies ...
South African Branden Grace rallied by shooting a 7-under-par 65 on Saturday to win the LIV Golf Invitational Portland in ...
Mark Leiter Jr. allowed a run over 5 1/3 innings of strong relief and the Chicago Cubs made the visiting ...
The San Francisco Shock continued their dominant roll with a sweep on Saturday, upping their record to 11-0 at the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said that since the U.S. and its allies imposed sanctions on Moscow ...
Tokyo, Japan: On June 28, Japan baked under intense heat for a fourth successive day, with temperatures breaking nearly 150-year-old ...
ALBANY, New York: A New York state judge has struck down a recent law giving 800,000 non-citizen New York City ...
DUBAI, UAE: The Arab states have built significant amounts of solar and wind power installations, and are in line to ...
LONDON, England: A second referendum on Scottish independence is set to be held in October 2023. The Scottish government, led ...
LISBON, Portugal: Tuvalu Foreign Minister Simon Kofe walked out of the opening cermonies of this week's United Nations Ocean Conference ...