Weapons Sale Increases in Arizona after Massacre

Weapons Sale Increases in Arizona after MassacreWashington, Jan 13. -The massacre in Tucson, Arizona, USA, that caused six dead and 14 wounded, has unleashed a massive purchase of weapons in the entire state, as reported by US national news agency Bloomberg Wednesday.

Bloomberg pointed out that on January 10, two days after the attack, the sale of firme arms in Arizona had increased by 60 percent, compared to the same day in 2010. The national selling average that day grew by 5 percent.

Gabriel Chin, an expert from the University of Arizona, commented that Arizona has one of the most indulgent arms possession control legislations in the USA.

"Arizona is a US territory in which a citizen has the authorization to possess fire arms without any restriction," Chin said.

A law signed by ultra-conservative Governor Jan Brewer allows any person to possess a fire arm in bars and other public places, even without fire arms permission, but the weapon should be hidden.

This incident revived the debate on fire arms sales and the legal reach of the US Constitution Second Amendment, a legislation that supports fire arms possession.

After the incident, Senator Frank Lautenberg and Representative Carolyn Mc Carthy, who lost her husband in a similar shooting, announced amendments to forbid the sale of high capacity bullet magazines, just like the ones used in Tucson.

The Center for Policies against Violence said most of the shootings in the US in the last 30 years have reports on the use of semi-automatic weapons with high capacity bullet magazines.

However, experts coincided that any measure of that kind will be defeated because of the strong opposition put up by Republicans, and the support that the powerful National Rifle Association has in the US Congress. (Prensa Latina)