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26-12-2021, 11:29 AM
Ahmed Twaij
Freelance journalist and filmmaker
Published On 22 Dec 2021
The holiday season is known for its celebration of life, togetherness, and giving. But for some US politicians, spreading Christmas cheer has come to mean promoting an increasingly dangerous gun culture. In what appears to be the latest GOP trend, Republican leaders have been posting their Christmas greetings with portraits of their families posing with military-grade guns.
On December 4, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted a Christmas greeting with a photo of himself and his grinning family in front of a Christmas tree, armed to the teeth with assault weapons powerful enough to lead a small militia.
![[Image: 2021-12-04T230410Z_1181241653_RC2Z7R9VIG...=770%2C513]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/2021-12-04T230410Z_1181241653_RC2Z7R9VIGLN_RTRMADP_3_USA-POLITICS-MASSIE.jpg?resize=770%2C513)
The image was posted just four days after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley allegedly killed four of his fellow students and injured seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan in what was this year’s deadliest school shooting.
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Despite receiving backlash for the display of callous indifference towards the innocent lives lost, Massie’s post inspired Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado to share her own gun-filled Christmas family photo, featuring her young children.
This brazen promotion of gun culture among children – just days after a deadly school shooting – is deeply disturbing. It reflects a desensitisation to gun violence in a country where mass shootings, and school shootings, in particular, have become the “new normal”.
......
Firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers
......
eight American children die each day from gun violence.
......
The pervasive nature of gun violence in the US has increased policing of schools and spread anxiety among students. American children are now attending schools equipped with metal detectors and security cameras and are being subjected to regular shooter drills.
......
Consistent roadblocks placed by Republicans, the National Rifle Association, and the gun industry have made not only passing any gun control measures difficult but have even stifled research into gun violence. This has forced some Democrats to go as far as adopting GOP-style tactics to pursue regulation of gun ownership.
For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that lawmakers should pass a gun-control law that allows ordinary citizens to sue those who deal in restricted weapons. The idea is to model the legislation after the anti-abortion law recently passed in Texas, which gives any citizen the right to take to court clinics or individual doctors who violate the state’s abortion ban.
......
It is time for President Joe Biden to make good on his campaign promise to tackle the issue and push for decisive action on gun violence. This would necessitate not only tougher gun ownership laws but also combatting the normalisation of gun culture.
Much better to read full article at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/...romote-gun
Freelance journalist and filmmaker
Published On 22 Dec 2021
The holiday season is known for its celebration of life, togetherness, and giving. But for some US politicians, spreading Christmas cheer has come to mean promoting an increasingly dangerous gun culture. In what appears to be the latest GOP trend, Republican leaders have been posting their Christmas greetings with portraits of their families posing with military-grade guns.
On December 4, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky tweeted a Christmas greeting with a photo of himself and his grinning family in front of a Christmas tree, armed to the teeth with assault weapons powerful enough to lead a small militia.
The image was posted just four days after 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley allegedly killed four of his fellow students and injured seven others at Oxford High School in Michigan in what was this year’s deadliest school shooting.
......
Despite receiving backlash for the display of callous indifference towards the innocent lives lost, Massie’s post inspired Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado to share her own gun-filled Christmas family photo, featuring her young children.
This brazen promotion of gun culture among children – just days after a deadly school shooting – is deeply disturbing. It reflects a desensitisation to gun violence in a country where mass shootings, and school shootings, in particular, have become the “new normal”.
......
Firearms have become the leading cause of death for American children and teenagers
......
eight American children die each day from gun violence.
......
The pervasive nature of gun violence in the US has increased policing of schools and spread anxiety among students. American children are now attending schools equipped with metal detectors and security cameras and are being subjected to regular shooter drills.
......
Consistent roadblocks placed by Republicans, the National Rifle Association, and the gun industry have made not only passing any gun control measures difficult but have even stifled research into gun violence. This has forced some Democrats to go as far as adopting GOP-style tactics to pursue regulation of gun ownership.
For example, California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested that lawmakers should pass a gun-control law that allows ordinary citizens to sue those who deal in restricted weapons. The idea is to model the legislation after the anti-abortion law recently passed in Texas, which gives any citizen the right to take to court clinics or individual doctors who violate the state’s abortion ban.
......
It is time for President Joe Biden to make good on his campaign promise to tackle the issue and push for decisive action on gun violence. This would necessitate not only tougher gun ownership laws but also combatting the normalisation of gun culture.
Much better to read full article at: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/...romote-gun
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