The two Democratic leaders in the US Congress have called on Donald Trump to tighten the gun laws. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer have sent a letter to the president.
In it, they appeal to the Republican president to help "stop the epidemic of murder and chaos that shakes families and communities across the country."
Dozens dead in attacks in August
At the end of last month, a rapist in Odessa, Texas, apparently opened the fire indiscriminately and killed seven people. At the beginning of August, two gunmen had raided assassins in El Paso, Texas, and in Dayton, Ohio, killing 31 people and injuring many. The violent crimes led to renewed debates over arms law in the US and its reform.
Specifically, Pelosi and Schumer called on Trump to influence the Republican-controlled Senate to vote on a bill passed by the House in February. This should be prohibited in principle private sales of weapons, where no background examination of the buyer takes place. The Republican Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, will have the chamber vote on it only after Trump has taken a position on the bill.
In the US, where weapons are very easy to buy in many places, there are always cases in which shooters fire at passers-by in schools, shopping centers or other public places. Thousands of people die each year as a result of firearms use.