Al Jazeera Net - Special

Bullets rained down inside schools and corpses scattered in the corridors, and when the people wake up from their shock, the judiciary, security and politics remind them that the constitution is above all, and that it allows people to carry guns, and there is no way to confiscate this right.

"I personally attended the funeral of 19 children and their teacher in Texas," all of them died in a shooting incident, after their parents were waiting for their return at the end of the shift.

Speaking to US Vice President Kamala Harris in response to a decision issued by the US Supreme Court repealing restrictions placed by the state of New York on carrying guns, in an attempt to reduce shooting incidents.

 The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that citizens have the right to carry pistols and rifles in public, and found New York state in violation of the Constitution by trying to legalize the carrying of firearms in public places, in violation of rights granted to people under the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

As for New York State Governor Cathy Hawkul, she commented, "A few moments ago, we received disturbing news from Washington, DC, confirming that the Supreme Court withdrew from New York the right to protect its citizens."

A demonstration in Florida calling for a ban on carrying a gun (Reuters)

waterfall of blood

The court's decision came weeks after two shootings in Texas and New York killed more than 30 people, including 19 children.

Such operations are repeated daily in the United States, leaving large numbers of dead and wounded. During the past months of this year, the country witnessed more than 200 shootings.

During the same period, more than 20,800 people were killed in gun violence in the United States, including murder and suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

As for the year 2021, there were 693 mass shootings, in which more than 20,000 people were killed, while the death toll is 45,000 if victims of suicides and other crimes in which firearms were used are added to them.

In 2020, the authorities recorded 611 mass shootings and more than 43 deaths as a result of the use of firearms.

Rifles and pistols were responsible for 39,000 deaths in 2019, compared to 14,000 the previous year.

In each of 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, shootings caused at least 15,000 deaths.

It seems remarkable and alarming in the United States that schools are a permanent scene of mass shootings. From 2018 to 2022, 119 mass shootings were recorded in schools across the United States, in which many students and teachers were killed.

One of the most famous shootings in the United States was the attack on the "Plus" gay club in Orlando, which killed 50 people, and it was carried out by a 29-year-old who had previously worked as a guard at the place.


The gun and the ballot box

After every mass shooting, American politicians take the initiative to express their grief for the victims, but they adopt very different positions on the idea of ​​​​a ban on weapons, and even put measures to limit the carrying of weapons in public places.

While Democratic Party politicians listen to the calls of activists demanding the adoption of laws limiting the carrying of arms, Republicans defend gun dealers in Congress and in the corridors of the courts, and in return receive strong support from them in the election seasons, just 3 days after the bloody shooting in Texas, the American president dissolved Former Donald Trump is a guest at the National Rifle Association convention, which was held in the city of Houston, one hour away from the crime scene.

In a speech at the conference, Trump attacked those who call for tightening the procedures for carrying weapons, and stressed that good Americans should always be allowed to carry pistols and rifles to defend themselves against evil.

The National Rifle Association is an electoral reservoir for Republican Party politicians, with 5 million members, and it donates millions of dollars to campaigns.

After several attempts, Democratic and Republican senators reached, Thursday, a bill on "gun security", with 65 members voting for it and 33 rejecting it.

This very modest project imposes restrictions on gun possession by tightening checks on criminal history and psychological behavior for those wishing to buy guns, and provides billions of dollars in funding for the mental health and security sector in schools.

But it did not adopt more comprehensive measures such as banning assault rifles or high-capacity magazines, because the US Constitution states that "the right of the people to own and bear arms shall not be infringed."