This weekend saw another mass shooting in the U.S. that has reignited the divisive debate around gun ownership and the second amendment.
On Sunday morning, at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs in Texas, a man, identified as Devin Patrick Kelley, killed at least 26 worshipers, aged from five to 72-years-old, and wounded at least 20 others.
This horrific mass shooting came just over a month after another gunman, named as Stephen Paddock, opened fire on crowds at a music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people.
It also follows an attack on citizens, this time using a vehicle, in New York. A week ago a man, believed to be Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, drove a rented pickup truck into a bike path and killed eight people.
These tragic incidents have been divisive for many reasons, one of which being how Donald Trump and the U.S. government responds to these kinds of attacks.
Soon after Saipov's attack, Trump named him a 'terrorist' and urged for him to receive the death penalty (the federal terrorism charges can override New York state's ban on capital punishment).
Many believe that Saipov's (a Muslim immigrant) actions could provide more fuel to the fire of Trump's anti-immigration, and anti-Muslim stance, particularly considering Trump's Tweets immediately after the attack referencing his immigration policy.
However, Trump's response to Kelley's and Paddock's attacks were very different.
Kelley (now dead), is a white, American man and his attack is rumoured to have been motivated by a domestic dispute with his mother-in-law.
In a news conference yesterday Trump told the press, 'This is a mental health problem at the highest level. This isn't a guns situation.'
Many people are pointing out the apparent hypocrisy in Trump's rhetoric.
It appears as though when the attacker is white and domestic, all he can do is pray and send thoughts, whilst if they are Muslim or an immigrant, actions against Muslims and immigrants must be taken.
This was made much more difficult to swallow when we learned that, in February, Trump revoked Obama-instated regulation that required gun checks for people with mental illnesses.
Common-sense gun regulation appears to be popular with the American people, for example closing gun show loopholes and not letting mentally ill people or domestic abusers (one of the most common themes in mass shooter backgrounds) have access to guns.
Politifact says that a poll this summer suggested as many as 94% of Americans supported 'requiring background checks for all gun buyers'.
Hopefully common sense can prevail over the powerful NRA.
Daisy Murray is the Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, spotlighting emerging designers, sustainable shopping, and celebrity style. Since joining in 2016 as an editorial intern, Daisy has run the gamut of fashion journalism - interviewing Molly Goddard backstage at London Fashion Week, investigating the power of androgynous dressing and celebrating the joys of vintage shopping.
