Miami, Florida – The total number of weapons permits granted in Florida until March 31 reached 2,158,447, the highest figure registered in any state in the country, the Department of Agriculture (DACS) reported on its website. Web.
This figure includes licenses granted to judges (767), prison and law enforcement officers or retirees (11,974) or active law enforcement (132,954) and security officers in schools (416), among other groups.
At a rate of growth of 17,500 gun license grants per month, Florida, with a population of 21.3 million, could surpass two million civilians with permits to carry firearms by summer.
Currently, the number of legal licenses granted to civilians to carry weapons is 1,971,997.
According to data compiled by the Amnesty International (AI) organization for 2016, the United States leads the industrialized countries in the number of deaths (38,658) for this reason, both in per capita and absolute numbers.
On average, 106 deaths per day were recorded on US soil due to the use of firearms.
Of the total 38,658 deaths, 22,938 were suicides and 14,415, homicides, while the rest were classified as accidents (495), legal interventions (510) and indeterminate cases (300).
The report also shows that 1,637 children lost their lives due to firearms, of which 862 were victims of a homicide and 633 were recorded as suicides.
Last February, the House of Representatives of the United States Congress approved a bill that requires that the criminal record of the buyer be verified in all arms sales, which makes it the most important legislative initiative of the last two decades in this ambit.
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, originally adopted in 1787, is the main argument favored by Americans favorable to arms, who consider that this measure is part of the national identity of the country.
However, the increase in mass shootings in recent decades has increased the flow of Americans who advocate greater regulation of access and use of weapons in the country.
A study by the Pew center dating from 2017 indicates that the number of weapons in the US it is between 270 and 310 million, which makes it the country with more firearms per capita, since four out of ten citizens recognize having a firearm or living in a house with weapons. (EFEUSA)
