The US has long struggled with massive levels of gun violence. There have just been three attacks with numerous deaths. Now the state of New York is responding.
New York State wants to tighten its gun laws after a series of deadly gun attacks.
The Democratic-dominated state Senate passed a law in Albany that, among other things, raises the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21 and makes it significantly more difficult to purchase bulletproof vests. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has yet to sign the law, has already signaled her approval.
According to US media reports, the state in the northeast of the country with around 20 million inhabitants, whose gun laws are already among the strictest in the country, would be the first to legally respond to the recent series of deadly firearm attacks. In the past few weeks, there had been a rampage at an elementary school in Texas, killing 19 children and two teachers. A gunman armed with an assault rifle shot dead ten people in a supermarket in Buffalo, and a 45-year-old man shot dead four people and himself in an Oklahoma hospital.
US President Joe Biden called for tightening of gun laws and a ban on assault rifles on Thursday. The US has long struggled with massive levels of gun violence. In 2020, gun injuries were the number one killer of children and adolescents in the United States, ahead of traffic accidents. For years, however, many Republicans have opposed stricter regulations such as a ban on assault rifles.
