Latinos have become one of the communities hardest hit by gun violence in the US. and at the same time they are the target of the industry that supports it and that strives, with campaigns and promotions, to achieve more buyers among this group.
Data released shows that Hispanic deaths from firearms in the country have almost doubled in a decade: In 2021 (the last year for which there is data collected) they reached 5,741, while 10 years before they were 2,947, according to the Violence Policy Center (VPC).
Furthermore, according to this same organization, Latinos are more likely than whites to be killed with a gun as shown by the homicide rate per 100,000 people in 2021: 5.2 versus 3.1.
Among the factors that explain the increase in gun violence among Latinos is the efforts made by the arms industry. has done in recent years to seduce them as their presence has increased in the US, where they already make up almost a fifth of the population.
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Firearms in the United States.
A pressure from the arms lobby that adds to other more structural causes related to attacks with weapons, such as, for example, police violence against some communities, derived from the systemic racism that exists in the United States.
“Latino communities experience violence and terror every day; “We have normalized that we can be killed with a gun,” One of the coordinators of the survivors network Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, Michelle Monterrosa, daughter of Argentinians and sister of a victim of gun violence, said in an interview with Efe.
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From demonized to desired
As the VPC study reflects, the arms industry is launching a campaign aimed at Hispanics and other minorities to increase sales on the one hand and support for the pro-gun movement on the other.
![Weapons](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/files/crop/uploads/2021/09/13/613f81e88be0b.r_1703643578873.30-465-930-970.jpeg)
The arms industry is launching a campaign targeting Hispanics and other minorities.
Tax and Customs Police, Polfa.
“The traditional (white male) consumer base is aging and dying and they need to recruit new customers.” to offset its declining membership,” said VPC Founder and CEO Josh Sugarmann.
Sugarmann wanted to highlight the fact that the pro-gun movement has always tried to “demonize” to the African American and Latino communities and now needs them to maintain its sales.
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The vice president of Government and Political Affairs of the NGO Giffords, Vanessa Gonzalez, for her part, told Efe that, to attract its target audiencethe arms industry uses “fear and misinformation” based on “false belief” that if you have a weapon at your disposal you have more protection.
In the same line, Sugarmann warned of the “dangerous loop” caused by easy access to weapons, which increases their supply and at the same time generates a growing sense of need.
Experts believe that police violence also plays a role, sparking an “arms race between the civilian population and law enforcement.”
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The debate over gun control in the United States
EFE / Octavio Guzmán
Michelle Monterrosa, one of Sean Monterrosa's sisters, who died in June 2020 after being shot by a Vallejo (California) police officer.ruled that there is no accountability for state security forcesstill protected in many states by law.
During protests over the murder of African-American George Floyd – also due to police violence – Sean died from five shots fired by the officer.
Monterrosa criticized the “unalterable protection” provided by the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights (LEOBR).), which has the objective of protecting police officers from “prosecutions derived from their conduct in the exercise of their duties” based on privileges based on procedural guarantees.
He also assured that Latinos are in a “limbo” that often does not recognize them as victims.
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Hundreds of people celebrated in Minneapolis the jury's decision on Derek Chauvin, accused of murdering Floyd.
ERIK S. LESSER. EFE
In this regard, VPC warns that limitations in data collection by public agencies, which in many cases report race but not ethnicity, may be causing an “underrepresentation” of Latinos among firearms victims.
For all the sources consulted, it is indisputable that the implementation of actions and programs to reduce gun violence in the country is easier under a Democratic presidency.
And although they believe that President Joe Biden's administration has not carried out “measures with a strong impact” in this area, they celebrate that it promotes “a wide range” of actionssuch as the creation of the first federal office to prevent gun violence.
EFE
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