President Donald Trump won the presidential election due to the numerous policies that he promised would “Make America Great Again.” One prevalent policy that Republicans got in line for? Stronger border security at the U.S. southern border.
Now, eight months into Trump’s second term, the Trump administration is touting that illegal border crossings have dropped to the lowest levels seen in decades. Of course, this new low is very likely because of the administration’s crackdown, arrest, imprisonment, and deportation of immigrants in the country, whether they came to the U.S. illegally or not.
Once upon a time, Trump’s team said they were only going after the worst of the worst. Now, they’re going after anyone, all in their supposed quest to keep Americans safe. However, if Republicans truly wanted to keep Americans safe, they would try to combat the country’s growing gun violence problem.
August Sees Wave of Gun Violence
Unfortunately, gun violence in America is nothing new. For years now, it has seemingly gotten worse. Even though violent crimes continue on a downward trend in many cities across the country, Americans are also seeing a rise in mass shootings. It’s a clear epidemic that the GOP has never wanted to deal with.
Effective border security and the safety of Americans will never be accomplished until Republicans and Trump truly acknowledge — and try to fix — the gun violence problem in the U.S. Of course, this will likely never happen. Republicans love to tote their guns around. All one has to do is look at Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem or U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert.
Americans are easily killing other Americans with guns, and nobody is doing anything about it. Just this August, we’ve seen a wave of public, headline breaking news of various mass shootings, such as the one on the CDC campus at Emory University, one in Times Square, and one in Southwestern Montana, which saw the gunman remain at large for about a week after killing four people at a bar in a small town.
Gun Manufacturers Continue to Thrive in America
There are many ways the Trump administration could try to combat the gun epidemic in America. These mass shootings are happening because of mental health issues and easy access to guns. This easy access to firearms has allowed conflicts to quickly turn deadly. An argument in a parking lot can immediately escalate if one has a gun, for example.
Gun manufacturers seemingly haven’t ever faced a hard day in the country. These companies continue to thrive — and Republicans continue to go out of their way to help them make money, such as pushing for an easing of gun silencer regulations.
Furthermore, the border itself continues to see the illegal trafficking of guns, but from the U.S. into Mexico and Canada. A whopping 70% of seized guns in Mexico come from the U.S. Mexico and Canada both have struggled to stop this trafficking. Earlier this year, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum even stated that cartels have an “alliance” with U.S. gun shops during a spat with Trump.
Despite the clear evidence that gun shops and manufacturers, and the lax gun laws in the U.S., are making it deadlier for Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians to live their lives, the Republicans in power have yet to make any effort to truly protect any citizens.
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