During the weekend, I was chatting with friends about the Buffalo massacre, the 198th to occur in the United States in 2022. I had not finished commenting on the event, which was reported as a shooting in California and a killing in Houston.

If I first considered not writing anything about it, I changed my mind. Why? I hesitated because after all these years of covering political news, I felt a little tired and, quite frankly, discouraged.

If I come back to it, it is because I believe that we cannot give up in front of a phenomenon that affects our neighbor and that we would be wrong to ignore the evils that plague such an influential partner.

No more killing and no more hate

I chose to come back to it for another reason: the phenomenon is growing. You probably already know that this phenomenon is complex and that it must be considered from cultural, economic, social and political angles.

I will not repeat the whole history here, I will just add to the context and, alas, to the statistics. Since 2020, there have been more killings and more hate crimes. For 2021, there were 693 killings (four or more victims); for 2020, the total was 611, while in 2019 there were 417. The jump is considerable.

In the grim toll of the killings, another piece of data makes our eyes widen: that of hate crimes. Buffalo is not an isolated incident and the killers - some inspired by the Great Replacement theory - are targeting minorities. To convince yourself of this, visit the Hate Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.

The social problems plaguing American society are not exclusive to them. Other countries are experiencing racial uprisings and tensions. Yet no other wealthy country experiences such armed violence. What sets the United States apart, then? Easy access to weapons.

The return of Jesse James

As an outside observer, the situation seems clear. Better regulating the sale and use of weapons is not a miracle solution, but doing nothing is madness. Yet it is believed that the United States Supreme Court will soon overturn a New York state law that limits citizens' right to go out with a gun.

A citizen who has valid reasons to fear for his life therefore enjoys the privilege of carrying a weapon. He could also hide it in public places.

Asked about a possible decision of the highest court which would be unfavorable to the will of the majority of New York elected officials, Mayor Eric Adams had this evocative formula: “This is not Jesse James and The Sundance Kids - who can draw the fastest .”

Referring to the mythical chapter of the conquest of the West, he felt the need to emphasize that the security of his city should not rest on a duel favoring the fastest trigger. Madness, I said.