THE world is watching the continuing rallies for stricter gun control in the United States. Previous indignation allies never lasted more than a week after mass killings. The last one last Feb. 14, in which a deranged youth killed 14 students and three teachers in a high school in Florida, has not been quickly forgotten like the others. “March for Our Lives” protest rallies were held last Saturday, March 25, with the biggest right on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC, at the end of which stands the US Congress.
It is the US Congress to which the youthful protesters are directing their appeal. They want Congress to (1) ban the sale of assault weapons, developed for the use of military troops in wars around the world, capable of shooting hundreds of bullets in seconds; and (2) tighten background checks on gun buyers, so that those with mental-health issues and crime records will not be able to acquire guns.
But gun rights advocates do not want any diminution of their constitutional right to bear arms. This is a stand that has long been identified with the Republican Party, which now has control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Congress has thus steadfastly resisted all efforts to tighten gun control.
Last March 13, a special congressional election in Pennsylvania resulted in the defeat of the Republican candidate, in a district that President Trump had won by double digits when he ran for president in 2016. Earlier, last December, a Republican senator had lost in the die-hard Republican state of Alabama. In both cases, the Republicans blamed the losses on the poor choice of candidates. Other political leaders blamed President Trump and his policies.
The continuing “March for Our Lives” protest rallies may yet influence the coming elections for senators and congressmen as more aspirants, inspired by the protest demonstrations in Washington and elsewhere in the country, challenge the Republican incumbents. Aside from the big rally in Washington, DC, protesters gathered last Tuesday in some 800 other cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, San Diego, and St. Louis.
Our expectation after the February school mass killing in Florida, was that nothing much would happen. The US Congress and the Trump administration would carry on as before. And in a few months, there would be another mass killing in some school in the country.
The protest, however, has not died down. It has even spread to cities in other countries – to London, Stockholm, Sydney, and Mauritius. The youth rallies, we hope, will be heeded by their officials. They may be beginning to impact on elections to choose the coming members of Congress.
