Donald Trump shooting: 'Bullet' pierced the former president's ear, but gun violence threatens America's soul

While addressing a rally in Pennsylvania, former US President Donald Trump reportedly came under gunfire. The shooter, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was reportedly shot dead. Another person from the crowd was also killed in the incident.

Some reports have hinted that what hit Trump was not a bullet but glass shards from a teleprompter explosion. Others have called all of it a ‘hoax’.

The incident has sent shock waves worldwide as the country's elections are now just a few months away. Political bigwigs like Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, UK PM Keir Starmer, and Indian PM Narendra Modi have condemned the ‘political violence’.

Trump himself is reportedly safe and had even raised his fist in defiance as brave Secret Service agents whisked him off the stage.

He later wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear.”

He added, “It is incredible that such an act can take place in our country.”

While it is truly a big lapse in the security apparatus of the presidential candidate and a lot is to be investigated, the most resounding sound will be that of the world’s supposed 'superpower’ not controlling gun violence and gun ownership.

Resounding Shots

The United States averaged one mass shooting per day in 2024 and will break over 500 mass shootings for the fifth year in a row, as per the Gun Violence Archive (GVA).

As of July 2, the natural midpoint of the year, 277 people were killed and 1,132 people were injured owing to mass shootings in the country.

While these numbers are shocking enough, what is horrific is that mass shootings account for just a fraction of all gun violence-related deaths in the US.

As of July 2, more than 8,000 people had died due to homicides, murders, defensive gun use, and unintentional shootings involving firearms.

Firearm suicides made up more than half of all suicides committed in the country in 2022, said the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Right to bear arms?

The Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights gave Americans the right to ‘keep and bear arms’ and form a ‘well-organised militia.’

This right, which has been enshrined in the Constitution since 1791, has become a constant point of debate amongst the gun lobby and those demanding a ban on gun ownership.

While the reasons and context for America giving its citizens the right to own guns were different back in the day, it has now become the source of much discontent amongst the American public.

‘Open carry’ or the unconcealed carrying of firearms is allowed in the country, even without licenses in some states.

Parades are regularly arranged in which hundreds of people openly bear arms in broad public view.

Is the line between open-carrying guns and teenagers gunning down a classroom of children this fine?

That’s something for American lawmakers and citizens to ponder on.

Trump’s Support

Donald Trump has formally vowed to roll back restrictions on gun usage imposed by Joe Biden if elected.

"Every single Biden attack on gun owners and manufacturers will be terminated my very first week back in office, perhaps my first day," he said in a speech at the Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.

The National Rifle Association has supported Trump throughout his campaign, with the former President designating gun shops as ‘essential businesses’ during the COVID-19 pandemic and, in turn, allowing them to stay open.

“No one will lay a finger on your firearms,” Trump has promised time and time again.

Is gun violence systemic?

While 'red states’ tend to have loser gun laws when compared to ‘blue’ ones, the track record of the Democrat Joe Biden administration is no better.

According to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA), there were 5,000 more fatal shootings in Biden’s first year in power when compared to Trump’s first year as president.

Barack Obama, one of America’s strongest critics of gun violence and a former president, did not fare too well either. In 2014, 33,599 people were killed by guns in the country. While Obama brought in laws and turned to technology like ‘smart guns,’ violence continued throughout his tenure.

Why is America so trigger-happy?

The US has become infamous throughout the world as being the most trigger-friendly nation. Recently, images of vending machines openly selling bullets by the bucket-load went viral, signalling that the crisis has become an integral part of American business.

There are now more guns than people in the country. While gun violence is prevalent in other nations like the UK and India, it is not so fatal, does not have this level of public approval, and does not enjoy tacit political backing.

In a country whose former (and now most likely the next) president openly supports gun ownership, the final shot has already been fired.

Only this time, American society is bleeding.