In the wake of the school massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, FRANCE 24 is joined by Claire Boine, a Research Scientist at Theiss Research and a Senior Policy Research Fellow at the Future of Life Institute (FLI) where she focuses on policies to mitigate existential risks. She has also conducted research at the Boston University School of Public Health on American gun culture, exploring the social identity of gun owners and shared values between gun owners and non gun owners. She asserts that the weapons industry "is given a lot of credit for polarising the issue, but really what they're doing is creating this misperception, this prejudice, that most people in the US would be against gun violence prevention policies." And Ms. Boine insists that this is not at all the case. Furthermore, extensive research has shown that "laws like universal background checks are very effective at preventing homicides," she explains. In fact, had there been "such a law at the national level, around 6,978 people would have been saved in 2022." For Ms. Boine this is a defining moment for America. She believes the time has come for lawmakers to become more proactive and more assertive in representing the interests of the people and the country as a whole. The first step would be "for policymakers to say, OK, we don't care what the NRA is saying. Our population is backing us. This is a democracy. Let's act now."
#US #Texas #shooting

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