Should there be a question mark or an exclamation mark. In the e-newsletter of the German ZeitOnline, published on the 6th of September 2024, we read – here translated:
Joe Biden disappeared on a beach holiday for a fortnight without anyone really noticing his absence. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and their respective partners are travelling the country shaking hands. And the rest of us are enjoying being able to take a deep breath.
An interesting picture of “active democracy” in the country that claims to be the utmost human rights advocate globally, where the rule of law determines the agenda. May be that this is the reason for maintaining Guantánamo – the extraterritorial camp? In the same edition of the e-newsletter we read, commenting on the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 incident
The trial against the suspects in Guantánamo has not yet begun.
And the rule of law is as such an …, well, lets say an “interesting concept”. By and large it is legal to own and use firearms/guns/pistols.
US federal law establishes a basic national standard for the eligibility of individuals to acquire and possess firearms. Under this standard, a person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms if they have been convicted of certain criminal offences, particularly those related to domestic violence.
However, if customers buy their weapons from private sellers without a licence, no background check is required. Critics see a dangerous loophole here: people who would fail a background check for firearms due to their previous convictions for domestic violence could turn to private sellers to obtain weapons. (https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/waffengesetz-usa-faq-100.html)
And indeed, what is legal is also practiced:
If things continue in 2024 as they have in the first six and a half months up to mid-July, there will be more than 17,000 ‘stranger killings’ by firearms this year, or around 50 per day. (https://www.mdr.de/wissen/psychologie-sozialwissenschaften/schusswaffen-usa-statistiken-100.html#:~:text=Nach%20FBI%2DSchätzungen%20hat%20etwa,den%20vergangenen%2025%20Jahren%20geändert.)
That we witness an increasing number of people of minorities owning weapons does not speak against them. It is, instead, an expression of the fact that they are marginalised and on top of it under massive threat.
A leaderless country whose politicians are sunbathing – on the beach or in publicity performances. The old idea of the people’s militia in a new and truly dangerous guise.