Interest groups are rampant in the United States, where gunfire is constant

On the afternoon of May 5, local time, a shooting occurred in a shopping mall near Dallas, Texas, USA, killing 6 people, including the gunman, and injuring 9 others. The shooter, Mauricio Garcia, used an AR-7 rifle. The source said the gunman's weapon was purchased legally. People's grief and mourning for the victims have once again swept the major media in the United States, but according to the custom, the attention of public opinion will soon be attracted by other hot spots, and the gun problem in the United States will still hang high.

The Gun Violence Archive in the United States has determined that shootings that killed or injured more than four people are mass shootings. According to the organization, the incident is one of more than 4 mass shootings in the United States this year. According to CNN, data on shootings in the United States in recent years comes from the nonprofit, and the U.S. government does not even have official statistics on mass shootings.

Social tears are severe, and gun violence is intensifying

The racial problem in the United States is deeply rooted, and many shootings have obvious racist tendencies. The Texas shooting attracted national attention because the gunman was suspected of being a neo-Nazi. During the attack, the killer could be seen wearing a patch of clothing with the letters "RWDS," representing "right-wing death squad," a phrase popular among white supremacist groups. According to a recent survey report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of the American adults surveyed reported that they or their relatives had encountered a gun-related incident; Minorities such as blacks have suffered much more like them than whites.

Frequent gun cases have revealed old and new scars in American society. In recent years, the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has continued to widen, social divisions have been serious, and some groups that have slipped to the edge have gone to extremes due to psychological loss. American, proud of its individualist American values, are more likely to cause social disorder in the face of sudden disasters such as the pandemic. Under the impact of the epidemic, company layoffs, business closures, economic downturns, etc. have not only caused people to feel anxious, but also caused a surge in violent crimes. This year alone, 1,48 people have been killed in various types of gun violence.

Reports show that more than half of mass shootings in the United States from 1966 to 2019 occurred after 2000, and about 20% occurred between 2010 and 2019. Mass shootings in the United States have nearly tripled over the past decade. Some experts believe that the rise in gun violence since the 21st century is a silhouette of the decline of American society. In the past decade or so, the financial crisis, the "Occupy Wall Street" movement, illegal immigration and refugee problems, and the new crown epidemic have hit American society in turn, and the United States has experienced serious social tears unprecedented after World War II. The world is witnessing a declining United States, where political polarization and social disorder have led to frequent hate crimes, and the proliferation of guns has become a fuel for terrorism in the United States.

Interest groups are on the move, and the prospects for gun control are slim

Gun control is difficult to implement in the United States, and in addition to public opinion and partisanship, interest groups are also important variables. Bloc politics and electoral politics in the United States provide a legal channel for gun interest groups to engage in money politics and influence the position of members of Congress on gun issues.

The pro-gun National Rifle Association (NRA) is recognized as one of the most influential political lobbying groups in the United States, and it is the main opponent of the gun restriction movement in the United States. Founded in 1871, the NRA began as a club for gun use and design enthusiasts. In the late '20s, gun crime became more and more serious, and the U.S. government was pressured to legislate on gun control. It was during that period that the NRA's role gradually changed from a gun enthusiast club to the world's largest anti-gun control political group.

With about 500 million members nationwide, the NRA is the largest gun pro-suffocation organization in the United States and has significant influence in federal and state elections. In addition to the influence of its members' votes, the NRA also provides significant campaign finance and technical support to candidates opposed to gun control to help them win elections. In the 20s of the 70th century, the NRA established a lobbying arm called the Institute for Legislative Action to influence government policy, and later established the "Political Action Committee" to provide funding to members of Congress. In 2020, the NRA spent about $2 million on record, far more than all gun control support groups combined.

According to the BBC, the NRA rates MPs based on their "friendliness" to gun rights, and these ratings can have an impact on poll numbers and even dismiss candidates who support gun control. Over the years, many conservative presidents who oppose gun control have been supported by the NRA, such as Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Trump.

A congressman lamented: "Using money to support elections and money to buy political rewards has made the so-called representative system of government in the United States a political system owned, governed and enjoyed by the extra-parliamentary group." In the 2000 election, the NRA's Political Victories Fund invested $2000 million in campaigns at all levels, winning 275 of the 237 congressional elections it intervened in, with 82 percent of its approved candidates for the state legislature winning. For example, George W. Bush gained strong support from the NRA for endorsing its stance, winning Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia and Florida, and it was said at the time that the NRA was the winner. In the 117th Congress, as many as 262 members have received funding from the NRA, and 100 have received more than $19 million in cumulative funding, the vast majority of which are Republicans. At the same time, the association has also invested heavily in opposing lawmakers who demand gun control.

Arguably, any bill on guns has the NRA behind it, and it can even kidnap Congress to abort gun control bills. In the wake of the Texas shooting, analysts said that if these high-profile killings continue to increase, it may increase new gun control pressure, but it will not lead to a new national ban on AR-15-style rifles or other firearms, because Republicans in Congress will not support it.

For years, gun control has been a point of contention among politicians of both aisles in the United States. Whenever a shooting tragedy occurs, politicians play out almost the same playbook: Democrats call for stronger gun control, Republicans blame "human fault, not gun scourge." After some verbal battles, the policy was not promoted, the bill was not implemented, and the guns rang out again.

(Reporter Wang Yuxinhong)