The appalling shooting in a Texas elementary school, which killed 21 people on Tuesday, including 18 children, immediately revived the debate on firearms in the United States, with no prospect of outlets.
“Too much is too much” launched very moved, the American vice-president Kamala Harris, a few hours after the tragedy. “We have to find the courage to act,” she added to Congress, helpless or reluctant to legislate despite the litany of shootings.
“It’s not happening anywhere else but here in the United States, and it’s a choice,” castigated US Senator Chris Murphy from the US Senate Chamber.
The elected representative represents the State of Connecticut, forever marked by the Sandy Hook shooting, on December 14, 2012, when a 20-year-old man had killed 26 people, including twenty children aged 6 and 7.
“It’s our choice to let this happen,” he said, pleading with his colleagues in Congress to find a compromise to pass an ambitious national law on the issue.
– “Epidemic” –
At present, this seems almost impossible.
In the United States, shootings are a recurring scourge that successive governments have so far been powerless to stem, as many Americans remain very attached to their guns.
30% of adults own at least one firearm.
This is particularly the case in Texas, theater Tuesday of the drama plunging America back into the recurring nightmare of school shootings: it is one of the states where it is the easiest to obtain a weapon.
In 2015, state governor Greg Abbott even said he was “ashamed” that Texas was “only” the second state in terms of firearms purchases.
Joe Biden, who ordered the flags to be half-masted, is due to speak from the White House at 8:15 p.m. (0015 GMT Wednesday) on the subject.
A longtime defender of a better framework for firearms, the American president had promised during his campaign to act on this front.
In April 2021, the Democratic leader unveiled a limited plan against what he denounced as an “epidemic” of gun violence. But knowing full well that he is currently not in a position to get Congress to take bold action on this ultra-sensitive subject, due to his very narrow parliamentary majority, Mr. Biden has so far only contented himself with micro-measurements.
– “Politicization of the debate” –
No major progress has, for example, been announced on the subject of the verification of the criminal or psychological background of purchasers of individual weapons, which associations have been calling for for years.
“For too long, members of Congress have been talking empty words after these shootings, while opposing all efforts to save lives,” said Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Immediate response from the Republican camp, through the voice of Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who warned against a “politicization of the debate”.
“Some have called for taking advantage of this to attack the second amendment of law-abiding citizens,” he denounced in reference to the amendment to the Constitution which guarantees the right of the people to hold and wear weapons. “We have seen in the past that this is not effective in preventing this kind of crime,” assured the elected official.