Gun Culture Triggers Political Violence

Donald Trump, former US president and Republican candidate for the next presidential election, was shot by a 20-year-old kitchen worker and supporter of the Republican Party. This incident raises questions about who is safe in today’s world. Watching Trump duck and then being pulled down after he was shot at a public event also cast doubts on the competence of security service of the world's powerful country, with the highest-level trained cadres to protect its leader. 

However, as a mother and a concerned human being, the most important question that comes to my mind is: what prompted a 20-year-old, supposedly intelligent youth to commit a horrendous crime like shooting someone during a public event where not only his target but others could be injured or killed? In this case, although the shooter’s target, Trump, survived the assassination attempt, a 50-year-old man died, and two people were injured. The shooter himself was killed by a Secret Service sniper.

According to the BBC, the infamous 20-year-old Thomas Mathew Crooks is from the small Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was armed with a semi-automatic AR-15 rifle. He shot former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, which is 70 kilometres from his hometown. After the identification of the assassin, there have been reports about who Crooks actually was. Most interviews with his schoolmates, workmates, and neighbours paint the picture of a quiet and gentle man. Crooks lived with his parents, and his father, whose gun was used by Crooks, seems to be grappling with what happened. 

Gun culture 

The gun culture of the USA is often discussed not only within this country but also globally. It encompasses the behaviours, attitudes, and beliefs about firearms and their use by private citizens. Gun ownership in the USA is legally protected by the Second Amendment to its constitution. Firearms are used for self-defence, hunting, and recreation. Gun politics in the USA is known to be polarised between advocates of gun rights, who often tend to be conservative or libertarian, and those who support stricter gun control, often the liberal. The gun culture is seen as unique among developed nations, with a large number of firearms owned by civilians under generally permissive regulations.

According to data published by the Small Arms Survey, a project of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, there are more than 393 million civilian-owned firearms in the USA, enough for every man, woman, and child to own one and still have 67 million guns left over. This report draws on official data, survey data, and other measures for 230 countries and finds that global firearm ownership is heavily concentrated in the USA. In 2017, Americans made up 4 per cent of the world population but owned about 46 per cent of the entire global stock of 857 million civilian firearms.

The USA stands out among the world’s wealthiest nations, with gun ownership rate more than three times higher than the rate in the next highest country, Canada. The gun ownership rate in the USA is more than six times higher than the average among similar wealthy nations in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). News of mass shootings in schools and public places in different parts of the US has dominated the news several times. There are a variety of people committing these shootings, but some have also been identified as children and common people who have easy access to guns.

As of writing this article, the motive for the attempted assassination of Trump is still not established. The authorities in the USA are working on unravelling this unpleasant event and getting to the actual cause and reason for the action. Although the motive is yet to be revealed, it can be said that the gun culture in the USA has indeed helped Crooks to do what he did. According to a BBC report, a local newspaper mentions that Crooks graduated in 2022 from Bethel Park High School with a $500 prize for math and science. He worked in a local nursing home kitchen, which was a short drive away from his home. 

He attended the Community College of Allegheny from September 2021 to May 2024 and graduated with an associate degree in engineering science. The college has stated that Crooks graduated with high honours and a review of his records showed no disciplinary, student conduct, or security-related incidents. He is a registered Republican and had membership in the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club. As human civilisation advances and people achieve prosperity with material luxuries made possible by science and technology, incidents like this, where a brilliant 20-year-old attempts the murder of a leader of the political value he obviously supported, still occur. Questions need to be raised about where human civilization has gone wrong.

Lack of guidance 

Is there something lacking in the education system and the facilities provided to citizens in advanced and rich countries like the USA? Could this be an indication of the lack of actual support and guidance that youths like Crooks need but the state has not been able to provide? Unlike most youths of his age in the USA, Crooks is reported to have been living with his parents. Did the family structure also fail to provide him the required psychological, mental, and social support that he may have needed? 

Raising the youth of today is more difficult than during the days of our ancestors. Although every generation struggles with growing-up issues, it is time now to start a campaign worldwide to look at alternative education systems that may help the future youth of the world to come to terms with making a happy living without violence.

(Sharma is a senior journalist and women's rights advocate. namrata1964@yahoo.com. Twitter handle: @NamrataSharmaP)