Between two soda machines in a grocery store in the United States, a new machine has appeared. Using a touch screen, customers over the age of 21 can choose between pistol, rifle or shotgun ammunition. It is as easy as using an ATM, we are to believe the company behind the new machines. An ammunition dispenser placed between two soda machines in a grocery store in the United States. Photo: American Rounds / AP Six of them have already been installed in grocery stores in the states of Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. – Our automated ammunition dispensers are available 24/7. It ensures that you can buy ammunition according to your own timetable, without restrictions of opening hours and long queues, writes American Rounds on its own website. Not surprising – It’s not so surprising that it’s coming to the US, with the gun culture you have there. That’s what Eirik Løkke, a US expert and advisor at the think tank Civita, says. Eirik Løkke advisor at Civita. Photo: Hanna Johre – It tells about a society with a strong gun culture, where the idea of being able to defend oneself and the right to bear arms is very strong. 290 mass shootings so far this year The machines are disputed. The critics are afraid that making ammunition available will lead to more shootings. So far this year, there have been 290 mass shootings in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive (GVA). In addition, figures from Statista show that there have been 32 school shootings in the country so far this year. 9,071 people have been killed by firearms in the United States so far in 2024, according to GVA. Last year, the total number was 43,164. Strong voices on both sides fight either for or against stricter gun control. Photo: PENCER PLATT / AFP Believes the Trump assassination may lead to more weapons During an election campaign meeting in Pennsylvania on the night of Sunday Norwegian time, former President Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt. – I was hit by a bullet that grazed my right ear, Trump wrote shortly afterwards. In addition, one audience member was killed and two were critically injured. The alleged perpetrator is 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was shot and killed on the spot. A bloody Trump with a raised clenched fist after the assassination attempt. Photo: AP Løkke, however, does not believe that the incident will lead to a debate about stricter gun control. – If it has anything to say, it will rather lead to people wanting more weapons. He thinks people will argue that someone could have stopped Crooks earlier if more people in the audience had carried weapons. – Incidents like this lead to increased fear, and when people become more fearful, they buy more weapons, says Løkke. Political division In 2021, US President Joe Biden called gun violence in the US an epidemic. The following year, the United States passed the most comprehensive gun control law in nearly 30 years. Biden says he will continue to work for stricter gun control if he is re-elected in November. Joe Biden will continue to work for stricter gun control if he is re-elected as US president. Photo: BILL PUGLIANO / AFP The Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, on the other hand, believes that the United States does not need stricter gun control. – If I’m not elected, your guns are gone along with your freedom, the former president wrote on Truth Social after Biden’s State of the Union speech in March. In addition, Trump has stated that he will repeal the gun law changes that Biden has introduced if he becomes the new president. America’s largest organization for gun owners’ rights, the National Rifle Association, is sponsoring Trump’s presidential campaign this year. They also did that in 2016 and 2020. President Joe Biden and Donald Trump during the first presidential debate before the election in 2024. Photo: AFP Løkke does not think Biden will use the assassination as an argument for tightening the gun culture. – At least not now. Might mention it on occasion when a little time has passed. Believes automatics lead to responsible gun ownership American Rounds says it will continue to install the automatics in states where hunting is popular. Managing director, Grant Magers, says that they are the only ones that with 100 percent certainty ID-verify all customers. He believes that those with evil intentions are rather drawn to places where ammunition can be bought with cash and where there are no surveillance cameras. – I understand the argument, but it will still be difficult to check, for example, whether someone is buying for minors, says Løkke. Today, ammunition can be bought in stores or online. According to the New York Times, both theft and the use of fake IDs are a problem. In 2018, 10 students were killed during a school shooting in Texas. The 17-year-old perpetrator had then managed to obtain ammunition online, despite his young age. Several hundred people gathered to mourn the school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas in 2018. Photo: David J. Phillip) / AP – We are very much in favor of the Second Amendment, but we are also in favor of responsible gun ownership, says Magers to AP Published 15.07.2024, at 13.10 Updated 15.07.2024, at 13.17
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In the USA you can now buy ammunition from a vending machine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
