「銃は悪くない」　全米ライフル協会総会に集う人々、小学校乱射への反応

【ヒューストンＡＦＰ＝時事】米テキサス州ユバルディの小学校で児童１９人と教員２人が犠牲になった銃乱射事件について、元郵便局員のキース・ジェーレンさん（６８）は「吐き気がする」が、「銃は悪くない」と述べた。（写真は米テキサス州ヒューストンで開催された全米ライフル協会＜ＮＲＡ＞年次総会の会場で、銃を手に取る退役軍人のリジー・Ｖさん）
　同州ヒューストンでは今週末、全米ライフル協会（ＮＲＡ）の年次総会が開催されている。
　ドナルド・トランプ前大統領のスピーチを聞くために並んでいたジェーレンさんは、個人で５０丁以上の銃を所有しているという。学校にいた人々が武装していれば、今回の事件は違う展開になったかもしれないと主張した。
　「殺人犯は、裁判官も警察も恐れない」とジェーレンさん。「犯人は（銃を手にした）被害者を恐れるべきだ」
　トランプ氏はスピーチで、事件で亡くなった児童の名前を読み上げ、「平和的で法律を順守する」ＮＲＡ会員を悪者扱いする「不快な」民主党を非難して拍手喝采を浴びた。

■「道具を悪者にしても問題は解決できない」
　ＮＲＡ総会は単なる銃愛好家の集いではなく、購入を検討している銃の「感触」を試せる場でもある。
　退役軍人のリジー・Ｖさん（３１）は９ミリ拳銃の重さやバランスを試しながら、メーカーの担当者に「ああ、これはいい」と述べた。「テキサスはズボンでは暑いので、スカートの下にホルスターで取り付けて隠せるピストルを探している」という。
　リジー・Ｖさんは小学校での乱射事件について尋ねるとしばらく考え込んでから、「個人的にはもっと銃に関する教育が必要だと思う」と述べた。１８歳で軍に入隊できるのだから、同じくアサルトライフルも買えるようにすべきだと付け加えた。
　銃業界を支持すると言うジム・メイナードさんは「道具を悪者にしても、われわれが抱えている問題は解決できない」と述べた。そして暴力による米国の危機を銃のせいにするのは「誇張」であり、もっと精神衛生プログラムの拡充に力を入れるべきだと主張した。
　会場前で行われていた銃規制支持派の抗議集会については、「次の銃乱射事件を防ぐためには何の役にも立たない──人が暴力を振るうのを止めることはできない」と述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/05/31-15:16）

Keith Jehlen says the shooting at a Texas elementary school makes him sick, but that you can't blame the gun used to murder 19 small children and two teachers.
We've always had guns in this country, the 68-year-old retired US Postal Service worker said, noting that he personally owns more than 50 firearms.
Jehlen was standing in line to see former president Donald Trump speak at a National Rifle Association convention that is controversially being held just hours from Uvalde, the town where the school massacre took place earlier in the week.
Reflecting on the shooting, he grimaced and said: It made me sick to my stomach.
But guns are not the problem, said Jehlen, who was dressed in camouflage shorts and a Trump hat. He argued that the disaster may well have unfolded differently if people at the school were armed.
Killers aren't afraid of the judge, they're not afraid of the police, he said. They should be afraid of the victim they're going after.
The NRA event -- which lasts through Sunday -- is being held in a vast downtown convention center with anti-gun protesters gathering outside.
Blood is on your hands, one protester's sign said. Guns = death, read another.
Trump drew loud applause from the crowd when he addressed the convention later in the day. He somberly read out the names of the Uvalde shooting victims, and urged Americans regardless of political affiliation to find common ground.
But he nevertheless turned political, blasting repulsive Democrats for villainizing peaceful, law-abiding NRA members who own guns.
- 'This is not Australia' -
In booth after booth in the cavernous convention hall, hundreds of firearms -- all made inert with their firing pins removed -- were on display, from small handguns to AR-15s, the ubiquitous semi-automatic weapon used by the gunman in Uvalde.
Tactical gear, hunting equipment and clothing shared space with gun accessories including high-power scopes, suppressors and 60-round magazines.
Retired law enforcement officer Rick Gammon eyed a wall of black semi-automatic rifles at the convention, saying any efforts to take firearms from Americans were doomed to fail.
You'll never take people's guns away. This is not Australia, 51-year-old Gammon said as he looked at the Hellion rifles -- a compact bullpup design that he noted would fit well behind his driver's seat or in his gun safe at home.
After the April 1996 Port Arthur massacre of 35 people, Australia enacted tougher new gun laws that included a general ban on the use of semi-automatic rifles, shotguns and pump-action shotguns except for specific purposes.
America -- plagued by far more frequent gun violence, but with the right to bear arms enshrined in the Constitution -- has repeatedly failed to take action after mass shootings.
I'd love to see universal background checks, said Gammon, referring to a long-sought reform that has majority support in the United States. But it's not going to stop someone hell-bent on crime.
- 'Villainizing a tool' -
The convention is not just a gathering of gun enthusiasts, but also a place where they can test the feel of weapons they are considering buying.
Oh I like this, Lisy V, 31, told a gun manufacturer representative as she tested the weight and balance of a 9-millimeter pistol.
You put it in purple too, and that got my attention, added the military veteran, who is in the market for a new pistol that she can conceal in a holster under her skirt, because it's too hot for pants in Texas.
But she turned contemplative when asked about Uvalde.
Personally I feel like there should be more gun education, she said, but with 18-year-olds able to join the military, the veteran believes they should be able to buy assault rifles as well.
They can enlist, right? If they can enlist, they can shoot a weapon, she said.
Jim Maynard, a gun owner and industry advocate, said that while there is a lot of uncertainty in America today, and people are grieving, he agreed with the decision to not postpone the NRA convention.
Villainizing a tool doesn't address the problem that we're having, he said.
People blaming guns for America's violence crisis was just hype, and they should focus more on expanding mental health programs.
The protest outside does zero for preventing the next shooting from happening -- and it's not going to stop a person from committing violence, Maynard added.