0 comments
Mainland gun laws are seriously impacting offshore US territories, particularly Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. In both, homicide rates are astronomically high and growing, and the majority of cases are traced back to firearms trafficked from states like Florida and Texas.
Despite having relatively strict firearm laws, US territories like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have far higher gun death rates than any mainland state. How can that be?
Once again, evidence shows that state-wide jurisdictions on whether people can or cannot openly own firearms simply do not work. Gun violence continues to spread across state borders relentlessly in both pro-arms and anti-arms provinces, and will continue to do so without firm nationwide regulation.
In Chicago, where there are no legal firearm retailers within city limits, 60% of its gun crime is traced back to weapons trafficked from the neighbouring Indiana โ which requires no permits or background checks for purchases. This is merely one example of how the system is broken.
The Second Amendment remains one of the USโ most divisive and heated topics, but new data suggests its issue of gun violence is even worse than weโd originally thought. According to violence prevention group Giffords, gun related deaths in offshore US territories like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands now far supersedes that of any mainland state.
Why is this relevant when discussing domestic US gun laws? Because the majority of gun traffic recorded on these islands is directly linked to smuggling from the continent.
Some of the highest levels of gun violence in America occur outside the 50 states, in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Whatโs fueling this violence? Illegal trafficking from states with weak gun laws.
Our new report explains more: https://t.co/GfrToIGjzH
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) March 8, 2022
Examining the Giffords report
The report from Giffords underscores how sizable the reach of lax gun regulations across the US is becoming.
In 2018, the gun homicide rate in Puerto Rico was 19 per 100,000 โ a rate four times higher than the US national average, and double that of pro arms states like Mississippi and Louisiana. During 2020, the rate of killings in the Virgin Islands was some 8.5 times larger than the States.
Naturally, youโd assume then that these are open carry regions. On the contrary, both have fairly stringent gun laws that permit law enforcement to carry guns, with the odd resident exception granted by the islandโs police commissioner.
Itโs sobering to think that just 13% of gun crime in Puerto Rico can be tied to guns procured on the island, with the other 87% being linked to illicit purchases from the likes of Texas and Florida. The report pointed to the Virgin Islands as the second-leading importer for firearms with the majority of serial numbers originating from mainland dealers.
Much in the same way that guns are easily shifted between state borders, theyโre brought overseas to these island territories. This speaks to major flaws with the current regulatory systems and also federal governments prioritising in-house cases.
โThey [territories] donโt enjoy the same rights and privileges as states,โ says research manager Alex Nguyen.
Texas is home to some of the deadliest mass shootings & most corrupt NRA politicians in the nation.
Over 4,000 Texans died from gun violence in 2020โwe installed this memorial in Houston to honor their lives and demand action. pic.twitter.com/Ip3fKIFwGO
— GIFFORDS (@GIFFORDS_org) March 8, 2022
