Tuesday, January 12, 2016, Poush 29, 1422 BS, Rabiul Awal 30, 1437 Hijri


Obama?s noble initiative
Controlling gun violence in America
PARVEZ BABUL
Published :Tuesday, 12 January, 2016,  Time : 12:00 AM  View Count : 31
The United States of America (USA) is facing a big challenge of controlling gun violence. The epidemic of gun violence in America has become 'Boomerang' for the American people. Because, the guns which the American government provide with many people of America to protect their lives are being used unfortunately by the criminals and even by the children to kill their beloved classmates, friends, and themselves at home, in the educational institutions, and other places! It is horrible that more than thirty thousand Americans are brutally killed annually due to gun violence. Definitely it is very right time to control gun abuse. Considering all the terrible incidents, killings, and suicides---controlling gun violence has become a big national problem that has pushed the American government and people to a serious threat.
I sincerely thank, congratulate, and salute President Obama for his in depth, practical, timely, analytical and very touchy article in the New York Times titled Barack Obama: Guns Are Our Shared Responsibility, published on January 07, 2016. He has perfectly realized the issue, needs and responsibilities of addressing the gun violence in the USA to control it through shared responsibilities of all including the opposition parties. He has mentioned in his write-up, "All of us have a role to play - including gun owners. We need the vast majority of responsible gun owners who grieve with us after every mass shooting, who support common-sense gun safety and who feel that their views are not being properly represented, to stand with us and demand that leaders heed the voices of the people they are supposed to represent. All of us need to demand leaders brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby's lies. All of us need to stand up and protect our fellow citizens. All of us need to demand that governors, mayors and our representatives in Congress do their part."
"The epidemic of gun violence in our country is a crisis. Gun deaths and injuries constitute one of the greatest threats to public health and to the safety of the American people. Every year, more than 30,000 Americans have their lives cut short by guns. Suicides. Domestic violence. Gang shootouts. Accidents. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost brothers and sisters, or buried their own children. We're the only advanced nation on earth that sees this kind of mass violence with this frequency. A national crisis like this demands a national response? Still, there are steps we can take now to save lives. And all of us - at every level of government, in the private sector and as citizens - have to do our part", President Obama further observed.
In his excellent article President Obama also pointed out that he would not "campaign for, vote for or support" any candidates, including Democrats, who do not support "common-sense" gun control measures.
Gloucester, Mass, a very shocked and disappointed father of Galen, who was brutally killed on December 14, 1992 in western Massachusetts of the USA, also wrote in the New York Times on gun violence. Referring to the Connecticut school shooting, Gunman Kills 20 Schoolchildren, Gloucester wrote, "My wife and I learned about the Connecticut school shootings on our way home from the cemetery, where we had just finished observing the 20th anniversary of our son's murder. Our son Galen, who was 18, was killed on Dec. 14, 1992, by a deranged student who went on a shooting rampage at Simon's Rock College in western Massachusetts. In the wake of Galen's murder, I wrote a book about the shooting. In it I suggested that we view gun crime as a public health issue, much the same as smoking or pesticides. I spent a number of years attending rallies, signing petitions, writing letters and making speeches, but eventually I gave up. Gun control, such a live issue in the "early" days of school shootings, inexplicably became a third-rail issue for politicians. Children will continue to pay for a freedom their elders enjoy."
Different researches show that nearly 80 per cent people obtained their guns from friends, family or 'street'/ illegal sources in America.
Regarding control of gun violence, two recently conducted research in America provided evidence that background checks before issuing license of guns can significantly curb gun violence. In one, researchers found that a 1995 Connecticut law requiring gun buyers to get permits, which themselves required background checks was associated with a 40 per cent decline in gun homicides and a 15 per cent drop in suicides.
Referring to federal restrictions, passed in 1996, experts said that the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) could not use its funding to 'advocate or promote gun control' that caused the CDC to back away from gun research almost entirely. Researchers Hemenway and Webster both think the president's executive actions could have a modest effect on gun violence. For his part, Hemenway thinks universal background checks would be an effective first step, but what he thinks would be more fruitful in the long term has more to do with innovation than legislative action.
However, more research needs to conduct soon, and coordinated efforts of all are a must to explore sustainable solution to the problem of gun violence in America. Background check, worst impacts of broken families among the children and their parents, peoples' loneliness, mental sickness, aggressive behaviours, and other relevant issues must be taken into cognizance by the license issuing authority before giving a gun for safety and security. Also same acceptable attitude, equality and equity are a must between the races (eg black and white, Muslims, non-Muslims).
Parvez Babul is an award-winning journalist, columnist, and author in Bangladesh. Email: [email protected]







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