Two days after a gunman killed ten people in the city of Buffalo, in the US, politicians, activists and experts are again trying to understand how a firearm attack could have been avoided and raise questions about the actions of the police, the platforms of the networks. social networks and the Biden government.
On Saturday (14), Payton Gendron, 18, opened fire on shoppers at a supermarket in New York state, leaving three injured in addition to the dead. The gunman, who broadcast the attack live on the internet, had already given signs that he could commit such an act.
In June 2021, asked at a high school activity what he would like to do after graduating, Gendron replied that he wanted to “commit a suicide attack”. The young man later said he was joking, but the police decided to investigate him. The student was arrested and taken to a psychiatric hospital, where he underwent psychological evaluation and was released after staying at the scene for a day and a half.
The police stopped following him, and almost a year later, he had no trouble buying a semi-automatic weapon, capable of firing faster than ordinary weapons, and driving about 300 km to Buffalo, the scene of the attack. Gendron’s classmates reported that he used to talk about weapons and that one day he went to school in a full protective suit, complete with gloves, boots and a cap.
Before carrying out the action, the shooter also published a manifesto on the internet to justify the attack, in which he cites racist theories, such as that blacks are taking the place of whites in society. Of the 13 people affected, 11 were black and two were white. Gendron is white.
“If someone is talking about ‘great replacement’ [grande substituição], are signs that the person is at least being exposed to online advertising. And it’s an opportunity to look for organizations that specialize in dealing with those who are being radicalized,” Cynthia Miller-Idriss, author of “Hate in the Homeland,” told CNN. once she becomes a loyal follower, but you can stop people from digging deeper into that process.”
New York has a law that allows you to report another citizen who is considered a threat, thus preventing the person’s access to firearms. Gendron was not on this list, but he could have been included by the security officers who investigated him, because despite having traveled hundreds of miles to get to Buffalo and commit the crime, he is a resident of Conklin, in the same state.
One measure advocated by activists to reduce the risk of attacks is to expand background checks, preventing people with a history of violence or mental health problems from buying a gun. A federal bill on the subject was approved in 2021 in the House, but is stalled in the Senate.
Commenting on the attack on Saturday (14), President Biden did not talk about strengthening gun controls, but emphasized that the case was about terrorism. “We must do everything in our power to end domestic hate-fueled terrorism,” he said in a statement.
The American leader and the first lady, Jill, travel to Buffalo this Tuesday (17), to offer solidarity to the families of the victims. Biden is expected to use the visit to call for more control measures, a difficult agenda to advance, especially in an election year – in November, the country votes to renew the legislature.
The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution, and some federal laws also regulate the issue. Changes are difficult because Republicans, with power in the Senate to block proposals that change the US Charter, place guns as a symbol of freedom to be defended.
Biden already had to deal with massacres early in his term. In April 2021, two attacks took place within a few days. In the first, in Atlanta, a man killed eight people, six of whom were of Asian origin. Eight days later, ten people were murdered in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado. Despite the president’s calls for changes to the laws, they did not come.
In April of this year, the White House announced measures against “ghost guns,” unregistered ghost weapons that can be assembled in kits with separate parts. The Justice Department now considers them firearms and requires background checks at the time of purchase.
Social networks, on the other hand, are questioned for giving space to hate speech and for being slow to take measures to prevent the display of attacks. Gendron streamed the action live on the Twitch platform, which is owned by Amazon and dedicated to gaming. Videos of the attack were replicated on other networks and had thousands of views before being banned. Twitch said it took the channel off the air two minutes after the broadcast began and said it had zero tolerance for content about violence.
In other attacks, such as the one in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2019, the action was also broadcast by the shooter on the internet, the same environment in which he released a racist manifesto about the act.
“Social networks need to be responsible for monitoring [o conteúdo], knowing that they can be, in a way, complicit in a crime like this. Maybe not legally, but morally. They created the platform for hate to be spewed,” said Democrat Kathy Hochul, governor of New York.
“The fact that this execution of human beings can be broadcast live on social media and not be taken down in seconds tells me that there are responsibilities there.”
MAJOR GUN LAWS IN THE USA
1791
2nd Constitutional Amendment
It says: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.”
1934
National Firearms Act (National Firearms Act)
First federal law to regulate and tax the manufacture and sale of larger-caliber weapons. Pistols were left out of the rules.
1938
Federal Firearms Act (Federal Firearms Act)
It demanded that manufacturers, importers and sellers of weapons have a license to act and prevented the sale of weapons to ex-convicts by Justice, among other categories.
1968
Gun Control Act (Gun Control Act)
It expanded the list of purchase restrictions, mandated that weapons have a registration number and vetoed importation, except for sporting purposes — but without defining what “sporting purposes” would be.
1986
Firearms Owners’ Protection Act (Law to protect gun owners)
It lifted several restrictions on buying, legalized selling at gun fairs and relaxed requirements for dealers to keep records on products sold.
1993
Brady Act (Brady Law)
It set a five-day lead-time between purchase and delivery to allow more time for customer background checks. In the following years, the standard was relaxed and, nowadays, a quick assessment is allowed in many cases.
1994
Federal Assault Weapons Ban (Federal veto on assault weapons)
It banned the manufacture, sale and possession of semi-automatic and higher firepower weapons. The measure expired in 2004 and was not renewed.
2005
Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Protection of the legal arms trade)
It banned manufacturers and sellers from being prosecuted if their products are used in crimes and began to require weapons to be transported and kept safely.
2007
NCIS Improvement Amendments Act (Improvement Law on the National Criminal Information Checking System)
It provided financial incentives for states to improve the databases to be consulted by sellers before handing over weapons to buyers.
