By: Syed Shahzaib Haider
America is continually facing gun violence in different states which is a contemporary global human rights issue. It is hard to tell who will be the next victim of firearm in US, but the rising trend of gun-related injuries in several states USA is alarming. The country is seeing a rise in gun violence as the gun purchase rate has reached its highest level in 2021 and 2022. As a result, gun deaths are rising horribly and non-whites are becoming major targets. It is not only having lasting impacts on victims and their families but also deteriorating the overall human rights situation in the country.
A young Bangladeshi community man was gunned down by offenders in Missouri State of United States of America (USA) the other day. The victim is a 22-year-old student of Computer Science at a local college and simultaneously working at a gas station. It is believed that the motive behind the crime was to rob the victim’s car and cash.
A journalist from Bangladesh Manjurul Haq, who resides in the United States, said that this victim was working at the gas station when a group of miscreants tried to break into his parked car. When Romim (The victim) intervened, a gunman targeted him and fired. He was later taken to the hospital by the police, where he was declared dead. This is a clear sign of gun-related violence. Romim Uddin Ahmed, however, can serve as a symbol for those who are affected by the severe legal and security situations in the US.
US government seems to have allowed gun violence. Whereas in contrast when it’s about promoting democracy and human rights across the globe, the United States of America (USA) shows up faster than anyone. But the same country displays utter negligence toward its own society. Unfortunately, the country is facing a lot of human rights violation issues. Extrajudicial killing by law enforcement has become a new trend in the USA. Arif Saeed, a young man from the Bangladeshi community who was residing overseas, was shot, and killed by police earlier this year in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The sole child of the family, Faisal’s killing was thus characterized by many as a “racist act by white police officers.”
American society is becoming racist and racially discriminatory. The nation’s black residents have endured appalling prejudice for a very long period. According to the Washington Post, black Americans are killed by police at a rate that is more than double that of white Americans. Black Americans, however, make up less than 14% of the country’s total population.After George Floyd was choked to death, authorities in the United States killed Bangladeshi brothers Ramim and Faisal, setting a precedent for extrajudicial executions and human rights abuses. The time has come for the United States to stop caring about other countries’ protection of democracy and human rights and instead concentrate on enhancing its domestic law and order.
Many figures demonstrate the disturbing rise in gun-related violence, including extrajudicial executions and hate crimes, as well as the total violation of human rights. Along with these, police violence is becoming a daily problem for US society and the government is failing to enact efficient policies. The guardian of global human rights appears to be struggling lately at home.
Unfortunately in developed countries US is an outlier when it comes to firearm violence. It seems the US government has allowed gun violence to become a human rights crisis. Wide access to firearms and loose regulations lead to more than 39,000 men, women, and children being killed with guns each year in the US (Reportedly). Due to the gun culture, the US has topped in civilian guns owing. It now has 120 guns per 100 population, a number even higher than Yemen, a country currently in one of the worst civil wars of recent times.