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Why is Donald Trump particular about the New York attack?

The United States has witnessed series of attacks from terrorists ranging from the Las Vegas attack, the New York attack, to the latest in Colorado.

The 2017 Las Vegas shooting took place on the night of October 1, 2017 when a gunman opened fire on a crowd of concert attendees during a music festival. This led to the death of about 58 people with over 500 injured.

The suspect, Stephen Paddock, was later found dead in his room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The incident was ranked as the deadliest mass shooting committed by an individual in the United States.

It took President Donald Trump five hours to offer his condolences. He also noted that policy matters like gun control should not be discussed at that time the incident happened.

The New York attack was carried out on October 31, near the World Trade Centre in lower Manhattan, where a truck ran into a bike path and walkway killing about eight people and injuring another 12. The suspect who was shot and underwent surgery was identified as Sayfullo Saipov, a Muslim Uzbek National, who came into the Unites States in 2010, under the Diversity Visa Lottery Programme.

Donald Trump however did not hesitate to make tweets saying “In NYC, looks like another attack by a very sick and deranged person. Law enforcement is following this closely. NOT IN THE U.S.A.!” Some people have said this act of the US President is double standard.

Meanwhile, the law enforcement was reported to have found a note near the truck, claiming the attack was carried out on behalf of ISIS.

In a tweet, Trump stated that he had ordered Homeland Security to step up extreme vetting program adding that being politically correct was fine but not for this.

Trump also criticized the Diversity Visa Lottery Programme saying the terrorist came into the US through the Diversity Visa Lottery Programme. He maintained that the US must get tougher and smarter as well as fight hard for merit based immigration, adding that there would be no more democrat lottery systems.

The US President mentioned in his tweet that “I would love to send the NYC terrorist to Guantanamo but statistically that process takes much longer than going through the federal system. There is also something appropriate about keeping him in the home of the horrible crime he committed. Should move fast. DEATH PENALTY”

On November 1 2017, two men and a woman were killed at a Walmart Supercentre in Denver, a suburb of Thornton, Colorado. As of now, Trump has not made any statement concerning this. According to the Thornton Police, the shooting was random, with no indication it was an act of terrorism. The motive of the person as well as his whereabouts is unknown.

Gun crimes in the US

Gun crimes in the US have led to injuries and death of thousands of people in the Country. The Las Vegas attack suspect had over 20 guns with him while the New York suspect had two guns with him. The Colorado attack suspect had a gun that was used to perpetrate the evil, although his intent is unknown just like the Las Vegas suspect.

Of the estimated 2,596,993 total deaths in the United States in 2013, 1.3% was related to firearms. Firearms were also used to kill 13,286 people in the U.S. in 2015. Approximately 1.4 million people have been killed using firearms in the U.S. between 1968 and 2011.

The Congressional Research Service in 2009 estimated there were 310 million firearms in the U.S., excluding weapons owned by the military. Of these, 114 million were handguns, 110 million were rifles, and 86 million were shotguns. In the same year, the Census bureau stated that the population of people in the U.S. was 306 million.

The Gun Control Act of 1968 was enacted to regulated gun commerce, restricting mail order sales, and allowing shipments only to licensed firearm dealers. The Act also prohibited sale of firearms to felons, those under indictment, fugitives, illegal aliens, drug users, those dishonourably discharged from the military, and persons in mental institutions.

People buying guns were required to show identification and sign a statement affirming that they were not in any of the prohibited categories. Many states enacted background check laws that went beyond the federal requirements.

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, enacted in 1994, included the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and was a response to public concern over mass shootings. This provision prohibited the manufacture and importation of some semiautomatic firearms with certain features relevant to military use such as a folding stock, pistol grip, flash suppressor, and magazines holding more than ten rounds.

In the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Police and National Guard units in New Orleans confiscated firearms from private citizens in an attempt to prevent violence. In reaction, Congress passed the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006 in the form of an amendment to Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007. Section 706 of the Act prohibits federal employees and those receiving federal funds from confiscating legally possessed firearms during a disaster.

Diversity Visa Lottery Program

The Diversity Immigrant Visa Program (DV Program) makes up to 50,000 immigrant visas available annually, drawn from random selection from all entries to individuals who are from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States. The DV Program is administered by the U.S. Department of State (DOS).

President Trump called on Congress to end the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, calling it a ‘Chuck Schumer beauty’, though the system was set up in 1990 law and signed by Republican President George HW Bush.

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