Latino communities, the most affected by gun violence in the United States

Latinos have become one of the communities most affected by gun violence in the United States and at the same time they are the target of the industry that supports them and that fights, with campaigns and promotions, to win more buyers in this group.

The data released shows that deaths from firearms in the country have almost doubled in a decade: in 2021 (the last year for which data is collected) they reached 5,741while 10 years earlier there were 2,947, according to the Violence Policy Center (VPC).

Furthermore, according to this same organization, Latinos They are more likely than whites for being killed with a firearm, as shown by the homicide rate per 100,000 people in 2021, 5.2 versus 3.1.

There is one factor that explains the increase in gun violence among Latinos the very effort made by the armaments industry has done in recent years to seduce them as their presence has increased in the United States, where they already make up almost a fifth of the population.

A pressure from the gun lobby that adds to other more structural causes linked to gun attacks such as, for example, police violence against some communitiesderived from the systemic racism that exists in the United States.

“Latino communities experience violence and terror every day; We have normalized the fact that we can be killed with a gun“, said in an interview with EFE, one of the coordinators of the Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice network, Michelle Monterrosa, daughter of Argentines and sister of a victim of armed violence.

From demonized to desired

As the VPC study finds, the gun industry is launching a campaign targeting Hispanics and other minorities to increase sales on the one hand and support the pro-gun movement on the other.

“The traditional (white male) consumer base is aging and dying they need to recruit new customers to counteract the decline in its membership,” VPC founder and executive director Josh Sugarmann told the media.

Sugarmann wanted to highlight the fact that the gun movement has always sought to “demonize” the African-American and Latino communities and now needs them to maintain its sales.

The vice-president of government and political affairs of the NGO Giffords, Vanessa Gonzalez, told EFE that, to attract its target audience, the arms industry uses “Fear and misinformation” based on the “false belief” that if you have a gun at your disposal you have more protection.

Along the same lines, Sugarmann warned of the “dangerous circle” caused by easy access to weapons, which increases their supply and at the same time generates a feeling of growing need.

Violence by peacekeepers

Experts believe so Police violence also has an impactwhich trigger an “arms race between the civilian population and the police”.

Michelle Monterrosa, one of the sisters of Sean Monterrosa, who died in June 2020 after being shot by a Vallejo (California) police officer, said there is no accountability for state security forces, still protected in many states by law .

During the protests for the murder of the African American George Floyd – also due to police violence -, Sean He died from five gunshots fired by the officer.

Monterrosa criticized the “unalterable protection” provided by the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights (LEOBR), which aims to protect police officers from “prosecution arising out of their conduct in the exercise of their duties” and from privileges based on procedural guarantees.

the numbers dance

He also assured that Latinos are in “limbo.” many times he does not recognize them as victims.

In this regard, VPC warns that limitations in data collection by public agencies, which in many cases report race but not ethnicity, could cause an “underrepresentation” of Latinos among gun victims.

For all the sources consulted, the implementation of actions and programs aimed at reducing armed violence in the country is indisputable It’s easier under a Democratic presidency.

And although they believe that President Joe Biden’s administration has not taken “high-impact measures” in this area, they celebrate the fact that it promotes “a broad range” of actions, such as the creation of the first federal office to prevent armed violence.

EFE Agency