Focus on gun laws after Las Vegas massacre
LAS VEGAS: The deadliest mass shooting in modern American history which killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 has thrust the debate on gun rights into the spotlight again.
Some are calling for tighter gun control, some oppose new firearms laws, while others are undecided.
According to the non-profit organisation Gun Violence Archive, the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas on Sunday night was the 273rd mass shooting in the US in the 275 days of 2017 so far.
Mass shootings, a nearly daily occurrence in the US, are when four or more people are slain by gunfire in one incident, according to the FBI.
In the wake of Sunday night’s tragedy in Las Vegas, celebrities, many Democrats and gun-control advocates are demanding a tighter gun control policy.
“There should be more background checks and restrictions. No one should be allowed to have that many guns in hand at all,” local resident Francisco Basuito said.
“There should be more control on this,” said Basuito, who lit candles with his family on Monday night to mourn and pray for the shooting victims.
Several of the leading potential Democratic 2020 presidential candidates were quick to blame mass killings on guns.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton jumped into the debate as well. “We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA (the National Rifle Association), and work together to try to stop this from happening again,” Clinton tweeted.
In a briefing on Monday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was “not the time” for a debate about gun control.
The suspected gunman, identified as 64-year-old gambler Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into the crowd at an outdoor music festival.
Conservatives accused Democrats of “politicising” the tragedy and said existing laws should be more strongly enforced. According to reports, Republicans in the US Congress have made clear they do not consider the Las Vegas shooting to be a reason for changing existing gun laws.
After the latest mass shooting, stocks in the gun industry rose. The massacre could also impel Americans to start buying more guns as they look to protect themselves.
Paddock purchased weapons legally from at least two Nevada gun shops, New Frontier Armory and Guns & Guitars. The owner of the New Frontier Armory, in north Las Vegas, said all necessary background checks and procedures were followed, as required by local, state and federal law.
“The media doesn’t understand that anyone in the United States – in any state besides Illinois – can buy a machine gun, or even more deadly weapons,” Kent Harris, a supporter of the NRA. “It takes about two years for the clearance to come through and then you can buy an automatic weapon,” said Harris, who owns several machine guns.