Whether or not a lack of gun control is behind the attack on U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and those that came to meet her at a Tucson supermarket, according to this op-ed by scholar Xu Lifan of China’s state-run Beijing Youth Daily, the shooting won’t do a thing to dent America’s penchant for guns or the rules that govern gun ownership. Rather, he suggests, Americans will conclude that the massacre was a result of difficult economic times.
For China’s state-controlled Global Times, Xu Lifan writes in part:
Loughner is also obsessed with doomsday prophecy – which may have provided a motive for his extreme behavior. Taking a look at the targets he chose, as someone who prefers political topics but is far from politics himself, coming into contact with a political figure at one point in time may easily have made that politician his first choice. Coincidentally, in 2007, Loughner had met Representative Giffords and asked her several questions, after which he concluded that “she is stupid and unintelligent.”
The attack on Giffords may prompt a new round of debate in the U.S. on social issues. The opening round will be on America’s outdated system of gun control. Whenever a shocking shooting attack occurs, a fire is lit under those who have differing opinions on the issue of gun control. However, in June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed clearly for the first time the right of U.S. citizens to carry concealed weapons, which will suffice to keep any discussion of gun control at the level of a war of words. It’s a policy change that will be difficult to promote. The second round will involve the exchange of partisan shellfire between political parties, particularly in terms of public administration. The third round will be about economic issues. The first order of business to have been taken up by the new House of Representatives, whether to repeal Obama’s health care plan, has been delayed because of Giffords’ shooting, and the possibility of someone using this as an opportunity to gain political leverage cannot be ruled out, but it would be an enormous political and moral risk.
The reaction to Giffords’ shooting will be like all the others: it won’t serve as a starting point for addressing public safety in American society. Perhaps what will really stick in people’s minds will be the backdrop of the shooting: the failure to lift the worst economic crisis in years and the confusion and anxiety of some people within American society.
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