There is barely a day that goes by in the United States without breaking news of a gun-related incident sprouting out of one of America’s suburbs, countryside, or metropolitan areas. The frequency of gun related violence in America is so frightening that time and again every recent American president has had to hold a news conference or two, to condemn the resultant atrocities. Indeed, since taking his seat in the Oval Office in January 2009, President Barack Obama has a fair share of these news conferences, recently focusing particularly on the frequency of the violence and the lack of action from lawmakers to limit the out of control violence, which the president believes lawmakers have the ability to either limit the right to keep and bear arms, or prohibit this right altogether.

Gun violence is a daily occurrence in the land of the free; for instance, as you may already be aware, over a fortnight ago, there was extensive coverage of the Charleston murders where six women and three men, including a church pastor, were gunned down as they held a Bible study. The young man who seemed to have planned and executed the plot is 21 year old Dylann Roof, who according to reports, was motivated by his hatred of African-Americans whom he allegedly accused of taking over ‘his country’ and ‘raping white women’. To rectify this ‘problem’, this deranged member of the American society took advantage of an apparent gift – a gun he received from his father as a present on his 21st birthday.

Although, the scope of this article does not extend to assess the ease of acquiring a gun in America, it looks at why Americans have failed to change with the times and do away with guns. In essence, I ask, why are most Americans so obsessed with guns to the extent that parents give them away as birthday presents?

Most pro-gun Americans are known to argue that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution which states that "a well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” gives them the right to bear arms – which are presumably used to protect them. And for this right to be respected, legally a gun can be purchased from a dealer. In that case the buyer must pass a background check to ensure that they are not a prohibited purchaser.

However, for me and many others, America’s right to bear arms has been greatly misinterpreted. I am not a scholar of America’s Constitution Law; however, I find it incredibly easy to understand that the amendment in question is outdated and does not in any way correspond to the current times we live in, whether in America or elsewhere. For instance, the Second Amendment says guns are permitted to a "well-regulated militia” to me, this can be interpreted in only two ways; first, the right to bear arms as relevant during the colonial era in America where most able-bodied men were required to be members of the militia in order to fend off any potential colonial advances by Europeans, and second and perhaps the most relevant interpretation of the amendment to correspond with the current times, is that well-trained citizens (law enforcement – armed forces, police) should bear arms due to their duty to protect us from imminent danger. These law enforcement members of our society undergo extensive training before they are issued fire arms and in many cases training is continuous. On the contrary, the misinterpretation which many scholars, politicians and activists have noted has only stood to mean that almost anyone who qualifies through age, monetary means, and a less than outrageous background is entitled to own a gun. Many have used this route, and some of those have abused it.

What can be done? Apparently, nothing can be done. Speaking to some American friends, I always sense a kind of despair that the gun lobby NRA (National Rifle Association) is too powerful to challenge and that nothing will ever change. The same resignation was evident in President Obama’s rather lifeless reaction to the Charleston shooting a fortnight ago when he said that "once again, innocent people were killed, in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.”

There is absolutely nothing the head of the ‘free world’ can do about this menace that, like it or not, does not just affect Americans. Most of us have relatives, friends and acquaintances who reside in America. For all we know, this menace does not discriminate, especially when a deranged individual is in charge. For this reason, would it be insane to suggest that perhaps international pressure on America could be one way to get them to rethink their love for guns? Perhaps it is insane. But, whether they take advice or not, they ought to do something about it and fast.

junior.mutabazi@yahoo.co.uk