- Despite recurring mass-casualty shootings, multiple initiatives to reform gun regulations have failed in the US Congress, leaving states and local councils to strengthen — or weaken — their own restrictions.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is facing backlash on social media over his seven-year-old tweet in which he had urged the residents to buy more new guns. In October 2015, the Republican leader said he was “embarrassed” by the fact that Texas was lagging behind California in new gun purchases, urging residents to “pick up the pace.”
“I’m EMBARRASSED: Texas #2 in nation for new gun purchases, behind CALIFORNIA. Let’s pick up the pace Texans,” Abbott tweeted and tagged the official handle of the National Rifle Association (NRA), a gun rights advocacy group.
Social media users dug out this old tweet after the latest shooting at an elementary school in Texas, killing at least 19 children and two adults.
Referring to the governor’s tweet, IPS officer Arun Bothra wrote, “One one side, there is blood of innocent children. On the other side is bloody money of gun lobby. The leaders & lawmakers in the US have always chosen the later.(sic)”
Also Read | Shot grandmother, ‘kids should watch out’ hint on social media | How Texas school shooting unfolded
The shooting came days before the NRA annual convention was set to begin in Houston, where Abbott and both US senators from Texas were among the scheduled speakers at the forum sponsored by the lobbying arm of NRA. The gun control debate in Congress has waxed and waned over the years as Republicans continue to filibuster to block stricter gun laws.
Last year, the House of Representatives passed two bills to expand background checks on firearms purchases but both languished in the Senate where Democrats need at least 10 Republican votes to overcome filibuster.
US President Joe Biden asked Americans to stand up to the gun lobby and urged federal lawmakers for an immediate gun control legislation. In an address to the nation hours after a deadly shooting in Texas, Biden said, “When we passed the Assault Weapons Ban (in 1994), mass shootings went down. When the law expired [in 2004], mass shootings tripled. The idea that an 18-year old kid can walk into a gun store and buy assault weapons, it’s just wrong.”
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Imran Khan’s ‘Azadi March’ turns violent as cops fire tear gas | Top updates
Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf supporters and the Lahore Police clashed on Wednesday as the former managed to push their way through the containers deployed on the streets and braved tear gas shelling after answering the ousted prime minister’s call for a long march onto Islamabad.
-
There’s no ‘utopia’, no need to lecture on rights, Xi Jinping tells UN human rights chief
Chinese President Xi Jinping defended China’s record in a meeting with UN’s top human rights official on Wednesday, saying there is no “flawless utopia” and criticised countries that lecture others on human rights and politicise the issue. Xi and Bachelet meeting comes in the backdrop of fresh allegations of systemic abuse carried out by the Chinese government against the minority Muslim UIghurs in Xinjiang. Beijing has denied the allegations.
-
‘Release Yasin Malik…’: Pak foreign minister writes to UN human rights chief
Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to urge India to acquit Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik from all charges and ensure his immediate release from prison so that he can be reunited with his family.
-
‘Our relations with India not moving forward, but one day…’: Pak minister
Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said he anticipated a day when his country could engage India not just for diplomatic reasons but also economic. Zardari was quoted by news agency PTI as acknowledging Pak’s relations with India have not been ‘moving forward’. The minister said the best way forward on domestic and international levels is to leave aside political bickering and explore and unlock his country’s huge untapped potential.
-
Key initiatives of Quad Summit that position it as a counterweight to China
A new satellite-based initiative that will link naval facilities in India, Singapore and the South Pacific and allow Indo-Pacific countries to track illegal fishing and “dark shipping” is one of the most significant steps taken by the Quad since its revival in 2017. These initiatives appear clearly aimed at positioning the Quad, which groups India, Australia, Japan and the US, as a counterweight to China’s increasing influence and assertive in the region.
Personalise your news feed. Follow trending topics