Attempts at tighter gun control laws will make headlines
The fight will move from the White House to the courts
By Alexandra Suich Bass: senior correspondent, politics, technology and society, The Economist
ACCORDING TO THE Chinese zodiac, 2020 was the year of the rat. In America it was the year of the gun. More guns were sold in 2020 than in any previous year. Amid widespread anxiety about the coronavirus and social unrest, 5m more guns were sold than otherwise would have been, according to Phillip Levine and Robin McKnight, professors at Wellesley College. In the first nine months of the year 29m federal background-checks were submitted for firearms, 84% more than in the same period five years earlier. (Not all background checks correspond to a sale.) First-time gun-buyers waited in queues more reminiscent of rock concerts than retail. On one Saturday in July, the wait to enter the gun show being held at a Dallas convention centre was more than two hours.
America already has the highest per-person rate of gun ownership in the world. It has more guns than people and more mass shootings than any other rich country. But if 2020 was the year of the gun, 2021 will be the year that gun control gets more attention. There are four places to watch.
