“Belgium has a share of responsibility in the American shootings”
© BelgaImage
Joe Biden
Endless list
A never-ending list of school shootings just got longer. Tuesday, May 24, Salvador Ramos, 18, mowed down 21 people, including 19 children, in Texas. More than 300,000 children have been directly exposed to a school shooting since the Columbine tragedy in 1999.
The profits of the lobby
“When for God’s sake are we going to face the gun lobby?“, reacted for his part Joe Biden. “Don’t tell me we can’t impact this carnage, launched the American president. Gunmakers have spent two decades aggressively promoting the assault weapons that bring them the biggest profits.”
Micro-measurements
Joe Biden has so far only contented himself with micro-measures, such as the regulation of “ghost guns”, which has no serial number, therefore untraceable and can be purchased as a kit or printed in 3D .
Mental Health
To calls to limit the number of guns, conservatives oppose the argument for better treatment of mental health problems in the United States. The shooter was an out-of-control lunatic, revealed Trump, who has just accused his Democratic successor of politically exploiting the tears of bereaved families in an attempt to pass gun laws.
The NRA
Heavyweight
The tragedy did not prevent the National Rifle Association from holding its annual convention in Texas. Founded in 1871, the association is an influential political body with six million members and $400 million.
No matter the cost
The NRA’s primary mission is to defend at all costs the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which protects everyone’s right to own and bear a weapon. In 2016, the NRA spent about $10 million supporting Trump’s campaign and some $20 million attacking Hillary Clinton’s.
From the United States to Herstal
For years, FN Herstal has made large contributions to the NRA and the Republicans to avoid gun control. Among the best-sellers of the Belgian manufacturer, there are assault rifles of the AR-15 type (the FN-15 range), that is to say the weapons that are used in almost all school killings.
We finance
FN Herstal is a public company, 100% owned by the Walloon Region. “This means that all Walloons are co-owners, notes the researcher François Gemenne. One can consider that these killings are an American particularism. We can be surprised, lament it, but we must above all recognize our share of responsibility: as long as the FN manufactures these weapons of death, there will be killings. All this with our money.”