Shootings highlight 'global epidemic'
Pastor Dale Morgan
Shootings highlight 'global epidemic'*
POSTED: 1758 GMT (0158 HKT), April 17, 2007
Story Highlights
• The U.S. is the largest maker, buyer and seller of guns in the world
• The shootings at Virginia Tech reflect a "global epidemic" of
gun-related violence
• Guns are responsible for 300,000 deaths worldwide every year
By Zein Basravi for CNN
LONDON, England (CNN) -- The U.S. is the world's largest maker, buyer
and seller of guns but the country's constitutional right to bear arms
comes at a high price -- one that gun control advocates say the whole
world is paying.
Monday's shooting at the Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg,
Virginia, that ended in the deaths of 33 people was symptomatic of a
global gun crime epidemic, campaigners said.
"The U.S. stands out as the developed country with by far the highest
levels of gun deaths and gun homicides," Alun Howard, a spokesman for
the International Action Network on Small Arms, told CNN.
The White House defended the right to bear arms at a press briefing Monday.
"As far as policy, the president believes that there is a right for
people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," said Dana
Perino, a spokesperson for President George W. Bush.
"And certainly bringing a gun into a school dormitory and shooting ...
obviously that would be against the law and something that someone
should be held accountable for," Perino added.
The National Rifle Association, a lobby group which generally opposes
controls on gun ownership, responded with a written statement, but
refrained from politicizing the incident.
"The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing
our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech University and
everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy," said Andrew
Arulanandam, an NRA spokesman. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the
families. We will not have further comment until all the facts are known."
Open borders hinder gun control
Most developed countries implement tough laws to prevent "irresponsible
people" from obtaining guns easily. But Howard said the U.S. federal
system's "patchwork quilt of state laws" made it easier for people to
get their hands on guns -- undermining those states that did impose
stringent rules governing the sale and transfer of weapons.
"You can still obtain a gun by just crossing state lines, which often
isn't very far at all," he said.
The problem of open borders, exacerbated by the sheer volume of guns
available, plays out on the global arena as well.
According to an IANSA report published in 2006, gun-related incidents
result in 300,000 fatalities and one million injuries worldwide every
year. Many of those guns come from the U.S.
Mexican authorities reported that 80 percent of guns in the country came
from the U.S., 50 percent of handguns seized by Canada's gun crime task
force were also smuggled across the U.S. border and 30 percent of guns
recovered by Japanese authorities originated in the U.S., the IANSA found.
Guns good for business
While most developed nations react to incidents of gun crime with
legislation to insure stronger control measures on the sale and flow of
firearms, the gun culture in the U.S. has resisted change.
Weapons manufacturers and pro-gun government officials have consistently
rejected efforts by domestic as well as international bodies to regulate
and control the flow of arms in and out of the country.
A report released by Amnesty USA noted that the governments of the U.S.,
China and Russia saw new regulations as "limiting their commercial and
foreign policy options," while arms manufacturers feared "a threat to
their bottom line."
According to the report, small arms manufacturing in the U.S. is a $2
billion-a-year industry. Companies profiting from that business, as well
as powerful lobby groups like the NRA have consistently blocked efforts
to clamp down on easy access to firearms.
International reaction
World leaders Monday responded to the Virginia massacre with messages of
condolence as well as calls for change.
"Like everyone, I am deeply shocked by the terrible loss of innocent
lives at Virginia University," said British Prime Minister Tony Blair,
expressing condolences to the families of the victims.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard was more candid in his remarks,
offering his sympathies, but condemning U.S. gun culture as a negative
force in society.
Howard, who staked his political leadership on pushing through tough
laws on gun ownership in Australia after a lone gunman in his country
killed 35 people, said the Virginia shootings were a tragedy of a kind
he hoped would never be seen again in Australia.
"We had a terrible incident at Port Arthur, but it is the case that 11
years ago we took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed
a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the
United States would never become a negative in our country," he said.
Among the victims in Virginia was a professor from India. His death
brought a strong response from K. Subrahmanyam, a former member of
India's National Security Council.
"It's not a question of an Indian professor getting killed in the
firing. This is related to the American gun laws," he said.
"We can't do anything about it. It is something which has happened in
the United States. They have got to change the law."