America's fascination with guns

Every time there is a mass shooting in the U.S, the conversation about gun control is raised and then dropped. At the time of writing, there have been 103 mass shootings in the U.S in 2021 (a mass shooting is most commonly defined as an event that injures or kills four or more people).

There’s a long history behind guns and the U.S, from the Second Amendment to the NRA. Let’s take a deep dive as to why the U.S. simply can’t ‘ban guns’ the way Australia did. 

The U.S. and the Second Amendment 

Guns are quite literally enshrined in the U.S. constitution. The Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights protects the right to ‘keep and bear arms'. Today, there's a big debate about what that phrase actually means. Does it mean that any American has the right to keep and bear arms individually? Or should that concept be placed in a collective context - that states have the right to protect themselves via groups like the National Guard (a big issue at the time of forming the right). The U.S. is extremely divided about the interpretation of this right - and what the Second Amendment means comes up inevitably after every shooting event. 

So who's the NRA? 

Simply put, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group in the U.S. that is heavily involved with political lobbying. They also have a lot of money, meaning they are big political donors (especially around election time). Their power however goes beyond the money they have. It’s the NRA’s people power and mass membership (the figure is believed to be between 3-5 million people) that gives them their strength. With a large community, the NRA provides mass resources for advocacy and volunteer work. On top of that, the group is also very successful in keeping members passionate and dedicated. 

Now let’s put the NRA and Second Amendment together. The NRA has over time successfully managed to refine the modern interpretation (through lobbying Congress and Supreme Court wins) of the Second Amendment as an individual’s right to ‘bear arms’, making it even harder to impose gun control restrictions. 

Can Joe Biden do anything about it? 

Biden has shown his support for gun control, but with fierce contention from the NRA, other gun rights groups and most Republicans, it will be difficult. 

After the Colorado mass shooting, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told the press, “we are considering a range of levers, including working through legislation, including executive action”. 

There are also two bills that passed the House of Representatives last week. The first looks to expand universal background checks, while the second would allow authorities 10 business days for federal background checks to be completed before a gun sale can be licensed. These bills are now in the hands of the Senate, where the real challenge begins. The Democrats hold a much slimmer majority in the Senate compared to the House of Representatives, meaning it will be harder to pass the bills.

What happens next will be a matter of time and debate.