Weeks before leaving office, Joe Biden signed a new executive order to address gun violence in the US.
President Biden shared an invitation on micro-blogging site X for everyone to join him and Vice President Kamala Harris as they discuss fighting gun violence in America.
Joe Biden Targets Gun Violence With New Executive Order On Emerging Firearm Threats
The President said that first needs to be talked about the guns if there is a way to end gun violence in America. He further added a disturbing statistic: “Gun violence is the leading cause of death among children in America, surpassing disease and accidents.”
The President announced earlier through his official X account that he would sign an Executive Order to deal with emerging firearm dangers such as unserialized guns, 3D-printed guns, and devices converting guns into machine guns.
President Biden also said the order will direct his Cabinet to work on making active shooter drills in schools better, saying, “We must do better.”
Figures indicate that, on average, there are 120.5 civilian guns per 100 people in America, which is over double the number for Yemen, the next country on the list, with 52.8 guns.
Gun Violence Becomes Leading Cause Of Child Deaths In The US: Study
The United States has such a large gun violence problem that people are targeted while in school and university environments. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics released a study showing that child gun deaths in the US have also reached all-time highs.
The number of fatalities through gun injuries rose to 4,752 among children in 2021, while in 2020 and 2019, the numbers were at 4,368 and 3,390, respectively. Gun violence has been the leading cause of death in the United States since 2020.
The study also highlights the difference between the races as 67 percent of the firearm homicides were perpetrated by Black children and around 78 percent of the gun-related suicides were perpetrated by white children. Only about a couple of weeks ago, a shooting at a school in Georgia had killed at least four people and the perpetrator was merely 14 years old and has now been arrested.
Virginia Tech Massacre Sparks Ongoing Debates On US Gun Laws And Second Amendment
Over the last two decades, the US has experienced hundreds of school and college shootings, but the most horrific occurred in Virginia Tech in 2007 after which over 30 people lost their lives. This bloodshed has started many heated debates regarding US gun laws and the Second Amendment of the Constitution, which has guaranteed a person’s right “to keep and bear arms.”
