Hovedemnerne på Joe Bidens første pressemøde var strandede børn ved den mexicanske grænse og infrastruktur. Men i en uge med to masseskyderier nævnte han ikke lovgivning om våben.
Not a single word about gun laws. Honestly, Joe Biden – that´s a missed opportunity
The main topics at Joe Biden’s first press conference were stranded children at the Mexican border and infrastructure. But in a week of two mass shootings, he did not mention weapons legislation.
“You should teach your boy about accountability when he is near weapons.” The words belonged to my neighbor, the father of the two boys my son was playing with. My then 5-year-old son had had his first play date in their home. I looked questioningly at him with a rippling fear down my spine.
The father said that in order for the boys to get out and play in the backyard, they had to go through his garage. In the garage stood a chair and on the chair lay a weapon. My son had picked up the weapon, and it now provoked the conversation that brought out the fear in me along with that feeling that I will never fully understand the Americans. I was horrified and furious, my neighbor did not understand the problem of having weapons lying freely in front.
It must be said that already at the age of 5 my son had been taught in school on how to react if one sees a weapon. It’s perfectly normal here. Again: he was 5. Children in that age group are more impulsive than cautious, they do not necessarily make the connection between the teacher’s instruction in the classroom and the reality outside. Add to that the impulsivity of a boy with ADHD, and then you have a parent with a heart in his throat.
The United States has in less than a week had 2 mass shootings with many dead. We had almost forgotten how it felt again and again and again to be reminded that we live in a country that has many times more weapons than inhabitants and very few restrictions on who can acquire a weapon. In particular, the killers’ preferred weapon appears to be the AR15, which can fire 45 shots per minute. One can think what one wants about the right to bear arms for protection or to go hunting. I would argue that no hunter needs a weapon developed for war, and that such a weapon does not belong in the hands of private citizens but only within the military.
Since the day I picked up my son from the neighbor, I have always asked parents of children that my children would like to play with if they had guns in the house. When I lived in Denmark , an affirmative answer would have been enough for me to insist that the play agreement took place in my home. We have no weapons and never get them. Now I always ask parents who give an affirmative answer to the gun question if the guns are locked inside a closet. One’s boundaries are shifted when the normal is different from the one one grew up with.
But I never get used to the mass shootings. Every time we hear of another shooting, my heart breaks. I simply do not understand that when the majority of Americans are in favor of more restrictive legislation in this area, then the politicians will not get one implemented.
Yes, I understand that there are donations from Fx NRA (National Riffle Association) involved, you can obviously buy a lot for money – including the ethics and integrity of some politicians, but the NRA is now stung, by going bankrupt, among other things. due to internal corruption scandals, so right now would be a perfect time to get legislation passed.
The vast majority of Americans are in favor of a tightening of gun laws, unfortunately politicians do not represent their peoples in this area.
The Democrats have a majority in Congress and yes, they have to use 60% of the votes in the Senate, but if they now get rid of the filibuster rule that means that they have to use 60% to get something through instead of what you could describe as democratic, namely 51 Per cent., then they could actually implement some sensible policy, i.a. a new and stricter legislation for who can carry weapons, what kind of weapons and where.
And here comes Biden’s first press conference, since he took over the oval office in the White House, into the picture.
Joe Biden was at the press conference – Joe Biden. He whispered, thundered, stammered, smiled and got on well with journalists. But he was somewhat woolly in the mouth when asked if he had intended to support a change in the filibuster rule.
The victims of and the relatives of the last shootings he did not mention in a word. It is unworthy, even though this week he has been out and saying a few words in connection with the shootings and has made his position to implement legislation in the area, but there he did not have the same large audience as he had today .
At this press conference, the nation and the world were ready for the first time at an official press conference to hear him talk about the topics he finds most important to address – it is simply a ” missed opportunity “. Not only does he have the majority of the American population behind him, more progressive Democrats would like to see him step more into character in this area.
In return, we now know that Biden is passionate about getting Americans who have lost their jobs back into work. They must help build the United States. Bridges are collapsing, main roads have deep holes, schools are filled with asbestos, have windows that are leaking and water in the taps, the children can not drink, etc., etc. There are chemicals running into streams and there are in general enough to do and work to perform for the working hands that Biden appeals to.
For years, it has been impossible to get legislation through that would correct decades of neglect of U.S. infrastructure. It’s important policy, if Biden succeeds in getting the repair work started, millions of Americans who are in a vulnerable situation will potentially be lifted up into the middle class, where the possibility of health insurance, own house and annual vacations with the family lies and flashes like the dream of the Democrats for the part of the population that has been left unemployed in large parts of the country where industries have been shut down as a result of development.
The children at the Mexican border were also talked about a lot. Thousands are waiting to have their case processed. According to Biden, many will be sent back to the countries they come from. The situation is developing, Biden may be facing a huge crisis, which lacks beds and the conditions in the reception centers are not good. Children are children, but the vast majority are fortunately 15 years and older. Biden raised a tab that there are new initiatives on the way that will make the situation better. But here, too, he turned out to be an old fox who does not show all his exits. He is a seasoned politician who does not intend to show his hand, it is about timing, as he was told several times.
But there was noisy silence when it comes to mass shootings. I do not know if the press had of knowing that they should not ask questions that had weapons legislation to do, but there was no question that was about the completely misguided approach to weapons that characterizes the United States.
Yes, several states have each tried to introduce legislation that will make it more difficult for e.g. men who are violent towards their wives to gain access to a weapon and make it harder for the mentally ill to gain access to weapons. Several states have introduced that it takes a period of time from the time you buy a weapon until you can actually pick it up at the store – in case it is purchased in affect. But there are plenty of loopholes, if you want to acquire a weapon, it’s a narrow matter. Tighten one place and loosen another. Each state does things differently, a comprehensive legislation is needed before we can really see changes – in the attitude towards the use of weapons and in deaths as a result of shootings.
Biden showed several times at the press conference that he is a man who is fully aware of his own power status as president. I can only hope that the reason he did not speak so bluntly on this very subject, as he did in relation to talking about Mitch McConnell (the minority leader of the Republicans in the Senate), the Republicans in general, China’s Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin is that he has some political, strategic pull up his sleeve.
It is my hope that Biden is as passionate about getting something done in the area of gun laws as he was under Obama. Here, with lightning speed, he produced over 20 proposals for what measures could be taken to do something in the field of weapons legislation. It was not Biden’s fault that nothing was done, as so often before it was two NRA-paid politicians (a Democrat and a Republican) who managed to stifle the measures.
Joe Biden has not yet held the post of President of the United States for 100 days. He made it clear from the start that his first priority is to get a handle on Covid-19. That strategy goes beyond all expectations. Instead of giving 100 million vaccines after 100 days as president, it looks like the number will be approx. 200 million.
I hope that when that Covid fire is extinguished, then Biden will have just as much luck extinguishing the other fires we are dealing with – there is enough to take away, of which a reform of the gun legislation should have the highest priority.
7,957 children and young people die every year as a result of gunshots, completely meaningless deaths, the vast majority of which could be avoided if the adults wanted to make responsible, adult decisions. A president is responsible for leading the way in the process of actively working for change for the benefit of the weakest in our society.
(Google translate)
Danish-American Eyes on Society 