A wave of countrywide mass shootings shook the United States and ignited a debate about addressing gun violence. As some United States lawmakers intend to end approximately three decades of congressional lethargy on gun legislation, state administrations are taking diverging approaches to combat mass shootings.
This week, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul of New York signed legislation into law that raises the minimum age to buy semiautomatic rifles from eighteen to twenty-one, bolsters the state’s red-flag law, and impedes the sale of body armor. In addition, the amendments in the law will heighten reporting requirements for law enforcement officers and mental health workers.
In the wake of recent incidents of gun violence and mass shootings, US lawmakers are considering different approaches to reestablish policies after almost three decades of inaction. This includes increasing the age at which gun purchases can be made.#GunControlNow #GunReformNow pic.twitter.com/HyDgaXEQPA
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State representatives enacted the move some days after an eighteen-year-old wielding an assault-style gun opened fire brutally inside a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, killing ten innocent people. Just ten days after the last shooting, another eighteen-year-old teen shot and killed nineteen students and two teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
During a bill-signing ceremony, the New York governor said mass shootings are happening again and again. He asked when states announced moves to become a nation to reverse the right to have the ability to have a gun over the right of a kid to stay alive. The latest move of New York state for stricter gun restrictions comes as the United States Supreme is set to make a judgment this month on a hundred-year-old New York law that firmly limits the ability of an individual to carry handguns.
Diverging Approaches of States
Some Democratic-led states look to strengthen or approve gun control laws. On the other hand, many GOP-led states are considering different ways to combat mass shootings, which number, according to GunViolenceArchieve.org, is over two hundred and fifty in the U.S. this year. Last week, Ohio’s legislature approved legislation allowing school boards statewide to enact teachers to carry weapons in the classroom. Likewise, the state lawmakers seized funds to boost security moves at university campuses and school buildings.
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In Texas, GOP officials and lawmakers proposed moving from restricting entrances to schools and boosting the number of armed school security officers. Speaking recently on Fox News, Dan Patrick, the lieutenant governor of Texas, said they need to toughen targets to stop would-be shooters from getting into learning institutions, except through one entrance. Maybe that would help and would contain someone from violence.
Common Arguments on Capitol Hill
A bipartisan senator’s group is trying to reach a set of gun violence prevention moves that can enact the consistently divided chamber. But, while talks continue, typical arguments made on Capitol Hill for and against gun control. A Louisiana Republican said on Fox News Sunday that the discussions instantly became about Democratic leaders wanting to take away guns.