U.S. splits over gun control as related crimes surge

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The United States is split again over whether to curb the increasing gun violence as gun-related crimes have grown exponentially.

Over 21,000 people have died or been injured due to gun violence in the country so far this year, and at least 130 mass shootings have taken place, according to a database run by the nonprofit research group Gun Violence Archive.

The Biden administration announced Monday a set of new measures aimed at curbing the proliferation of "ghost guns" -- unserialized, privately-made firearms that law enforcement personnel are increasingly recovering at crime scenes in cities across the United States.

"These guns are weapons of choice for many criminals," U.S. President Joe Biden said from the White House Rose Garden. "We're going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice and when we find them, put them in jail for a long, long time."

According to the White House, approximately 20,000 suspected "ghost guns" were reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations last year alone -- a ten-fold increase from 2016.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is submitting a final rule that bans the business of manufacturing unserialized "buy build shoot" kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check, and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as short as 30 minutes with the equipment they have at home.

The new regulation applies to all "ghost guns," regardless of how they were made, which can include 3D printing as well as kits, while the DOJ will require federally licensed dealers to take any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize them.

Americans' concern about crime and violence has edged up in the past year, and for the first time since 2016, a majority of them -- 53 percent -- said they were worried a "great deal" about crimes, according to the latest data from Gallup.

Republicans' worry about crime has risen sharply since Biden, a veteran Democrat, took office.

Nevertheless, the Biden administration's new policy on "ghost guns" has drawn the ire of gun rights advocates and some Republicans who called it "an attack on the Second Amendment" that gives Americans the right to bear arms.

The National Rifle Association, a U.S.-based gun rights lobbying group, responded on Monday that it believes this "ban" on "ghost guns" will not affect violent criminals.

"These violent crime sprees will continue unabated until they are arrested/prosecuted/punished," it noted in a statement.

The official Twitter for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee wrote that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

Biden reiterated on Monday that he supports the Second Amendment but argued: "from the very beginning, the Second Amendment didn't say you can own any gun you want, big as you want."

Guns are deeply ingrained in the U.S. society and the nation's political debates. With nearly 400 million guns in civilian hands -- the equivalent of 120 firearms per 100 citizens, the United States has a serious gun violence problem.

"Ghost guns" have been used in multiple recent shootings, including one in the Bronx of New York City, which claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl outside a charter school last week. Police say a ghost gun may have been used in the fatal shooting and officers recovered six shell casings at the scene.

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer representing the state of New York told reporters on Sunday that "there's an epidemic of ghost guns flowing into New York City and Long Island."

He underlined the unregulated nature of the firearms and the fact that they are available to anyone without the need for a background check are the major reasons why "ghost guns" are so dangerous.

Statistics provided by the New York City Police Department show a 351-percent increase in the number of "ghost guns" recovered by police so far this year. At least 131 of the makeshift firearms were seized between Jan. 1 and April 6 -- compared to just 29 during the same period in 2021.

Gun Owners of America, a nonprofit lobbying organization, contended that "the rules essentially allow the ATF to end the online sale of gun parts" and suggested it plans to challenge the policy change, which it thinks violates the Second Amendment and other federal laws.