US lawmakers mull tightening domestic terror laws to end mass shootings

Among mass shootings in the United States, white nationalist murders and hate crimes, lawmakers across the country have introduced a number of proposed laws to prevent violence.

According to the Center for Hate and Extremism Research in California, hate crimes rose by 9 percent last year in 30 cities in the US.

In August alone, the Gun Violence Archive recorded 29 mass shootings claiming at least 66 lives in states across the country.

On August 3 in El Paso, Texas, the most right-handed anti-immigrant gunman in Wal-Mart claimed to have been charged with guns in Wal-Mart. Bloodshed.

At least seven people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a shooting in two Texas cities, Odessa and Midland over the weekend.

According to the AP / USATODAY / Northeastern University database, this fatal damage amounted to 25 total kills this year.

As pressures on the law have grown, lawmakers have issued several legislative proposals to combat violence, many of which critics have been sadly short-sighted or unable to implement effective policy changes.

TRT World has broken down some proposals that lawmakers have promoted or signed into law in response to violence.

Domestic terror bill

On August 16, California's Democrat, United States representative Adam Schiff, issued a bill last month to criminalize terrorism in the United States.

If the law is passed in response to the El Paso slaughter, domestic terrorism will be a crime of its own category, subject to certain penalties.

At present, domestic terrorism is considered a crime under federal law, but is not subject to defined criminal penalties.

Schiff introduced legislation proposed as a deadly El Paso attack.

The two Republican-sponsored bills in the US House of Representatives and the Senate suggest similar measures.

However, some watchdogs and advocacy groups warned that Schiff's legislation or other measures designed to expand law enforcement authority could harm marginalized communities.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is one of the organizations opposing Schiff's bill.

In an open letter, the ACLU pointed out the American Patriot Act, which was passed in 2001 after the September 11 deadly attack.

The ACLU said the US Justice Department, the FBI, and other law enforcement agencies “unfairly targeted” constitutionally protected speeches and color and political dissidents exercising “another marginalized community”.

This has led many groups to create “discriminatory investigations and prosecutions, watch lists and surveillance” of US Muslims.

"The FBI used domestic terrorist authorities to monitor the Islamic community, including infiltrating the chapel," the open letter continued.

The new law concluded that "we will strengthen and create more harmful and unnecessary authorities."

Texas administrative order

One day after the mass murders of Odessa and Midland, a relaxed total technique was in force in Texas.

Republican Governor Greg Abbott signed a new law prohibiting gun holders from carrying weapons on school grounds and at churches and introducing additional restrictions on the sale of firearms and ammunition by the city.

Abbott and his fellow Republicans tried to focus on gun violence's responsibility for issues such as mental health and video games, while thoroughly defending gun rights.

But Abbott signed eight administrative orders on Thursday in response to mass murders in El Paso, Odessa and the Midland.

“We will work quickly with the legislature on the law to keep the gun out of the reach of dangerous criminals while protecting Texas's right to amend secondary laws. Texas tribune.

These orders represent law enforcement agency's ability to respond to shootings, while improving information sharing channels from agency to public and from agency.

One order provides additional training in law enforcement and the other integrates the work of mental health professionals and school districts into local teams, including law enforcement.

Congress movement

The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed a bill designed to expand the background checks on gun purchases, but it is not yet clear whether the Republicans will approve the Senate.

Senator Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump is waiting to push for gun control.

McConnell questioned Trump's effectiveness, but the administration is in the process of investigating whether it is ready to support anything.

Trump said, “Sadly, if you look at the last four or five years (shooting) that dates back from five to six or seven years. "You shouldn't stop as powerfully as the background checks," Trump said. Said on Sunday.

“So that's a big problem. It's a mental problem. It's a big problem. ”

At the time of the announcement, the White House did not respond to requests for comment on TRT World's Trump plan.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill in the Senate that would strengthen the "red flag" law, allowing the court to withdraw the gun rights of those who are called danger to themselves or others.

But some major Democrats accused the bill of falling short of this standard.

Minor leader Chuck Schumer said in a Senator statement.

New York's Democrat, Schumer, said, "Without a strong background check, the law will not be enforced.

Death penalty measures

The White House and the Justice Department, led by Attorney General William Barr, are trying to sentence death to convicted offenders in mass shootings.

Barr worked with Vice President Mike Pence to draft a law to accelerate the death penalty for those convicted of mass shootings.

Bloomberg said Democratic Party leader Joe Biden, hoping to kick Trump out of a recent 2020 presidential vote, described the death penalty as "what to do when you can't do anything reasonable-increasing your penalties for irrational people." . .

Texas Democrat Beto O & Rourke, who ran for the Democratic nomination, rejected the death penalty proposal as immoral and inefficient.

Instead, O'Rourke proposed a forced redemption program where the government buys offensive weapons from gun owners and moves them away from the streets.

The death penalty proposal is part of the Trump administration's extensive efforts to revive federal executions that have not been enforced since 2003.

Such efforts are likely to face legal issues of rights and advocacy groups that oppose capital punishment.

However, the death penalty is still allowed in the 30 states of the United States.

Robert Dunham, president of the Death Penalty Information Center, said, "The first time executions do nothing to help solve the problem of mass shootings."

TRT World told TRT World that "focusing on the death penalty in response to mass shooting turns energy and attention into a remedy that could actually make a difference."

public opinion

A new investigation into legality has revealed that most Americans, whether Republicans or Democrats, support these measures when individuals endanger themselves or others.

According to the APM Research Lab / Guns & America / Call To Mind survey released last month, 77% of Americans are required by law to petition their judge for a family to remove weapons from dangerous personal possessions.

The survey also found that 70% of Americans surveyed public opinion allowing law enforcement to take guns from such individuals.

A Quinnipiac poll released in May found that 61% of those polls support a stronger total technique. But this poll showed partisan division. 91% of Democrats supported a stronger gun technique, and 32% of Republicans supported it.

Several books on gun reform in the United States, Robert Spitzer, expect Trump to continue to match his policy with gun lobbying groups such as the National Rifle Association.

Spitzer told TRT World that he was "right about the gun issue" in recent years, despite "increasing support" for the red flag law.

Source: TRT World