Not only is yet another shooting unlikely to spur Americans into better gun control, but a Supreme Court ruling could soon have the opposite effect, experts say.
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“It is very possible that within the next few months […]we have a loosening of gun control [plutôt qu’un resserrement] says Rafaël Jacob, researcher at the Raoul-Dandurand Chair in Strategic and Diplomatic Studies.
No to gun control
The base of the Republican Party is so “fiercely” opposed to any gun control that few politicians dare to speak out in favor of toughening it, he says.
And even states where elected officials and the public favor greater control may soon be prevented from legislating as they wish.
The Supreme Court is due to issue a judgment this summer that risks invalidating a New York state law that limits the right to carry a firearm outside the home to those who have a valid reason and a license to prove it. .
The move could reshape regulations across the country, where the number of guns is greater than the number of people.
“I don’t see anything in what happened today, as appalling as it may be, that is going to change. [cette dynamique-là] “says Rafael Jacob.
Armed teachers?
The shooting in Texas may even revive the idea of arming school teachers to deal with potential shooters.
“It’s already done in some states,” recalls Francis Langlois, history professor at the Cégep de Trois-Rivières and member of the Observatory on the United States.
“Teachers generally do not want [en porter] “, he notes.
The Buffalo killings last week also show the limits of this idea, recalls Rafaël Jacob.
An armed security guard tried to shoot the assailant to stop him in the middle of the carnage. The guard was shot before they got there.
In addition, several states would already have difficulty adequately funding their schools and properly remunerating teachers, underlines columnist and history professor Luc Laliberté.
“We are now going to invest to arm the schools? he quips.
Booming industry
Meanwhile, the firearms industry is flourishing in our neighbors to the south, which “percolates” to us, analyzes Mr. Langlois.
“It’s not for nothing that there is an increase here. »
— With the collaboration of Jean-François Racine