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Gun Violence in America – Are Mass Shootings on the Rise?

For Americans, it’s a basic right to bear arms, but at what cost? The U.S. has a significant number of gun-related deaths each year, including an increase in mass shootings.

This type of public, violent crime takes place every two weeks on average, according to Sherry Towers, a research professor at Arizona State University. She estimates 20 to 30 percent are inspired by previous attacks. This is triple the number of public mass shootings since 2011.

When it comes to the total number of firearm-related deaths in America, some of the most striking statistics revolve around how common these deaths are compared to other countries around the world.

When compared to Canada, Australia or France, Americans are 10 times more likely to be killed by a gun, according to David Hemenway, professor of public health at Harvard School of Public Health.

In fact, more than 30,000 people are killed by guns across the country every year, and this number is considered a low estimate due to the fact that many gun-related deaths are unaccounted for as some shootings slip through the cracks and are not reported by the Centers for Disease Control.

How is this possible? One argument could be the availability of guns in the U.S.

In Arizona, for example, state law mandates that any resident over the age of 21 who is not a prohibited possessor may purchase a gun from a retailer and carry a weapon openly or concealed without a license.

They must undergo and pass a federal background check, unless they already have a permit or license, when purchasing from a retailer, but that’s not the only way to obtain a gun.

Firearms are often sold privately, auctioned, passed down or acquired illegally, which are all processes that don’t require background checks or licensing.

As a result of this increase, gun control laws are being questioned by Americans. After the mass shooting in Oregon, CNN released a poll that found 52 percent of people in the U.S. are opposed to stricter gun control.

Will these numbers inspire lawmakers to revisit current laws? That remains to be seen.

TSA Fails Most Undercover Safety Tests and Struggles to Identify Terrorists

How effective is airport security? According to recent tests by The Department of Homeland Security, TSA agents failed 95 percent of safety tests.

Recently, Homeland Security’s Red Teams, which are undercover groups of investigators, posed as passengers to challenge the TSA’s safety standards and test the effectiveness of their routines.TSA

Red Team agents found that the TSA failed 67 of 70 tests performed, in which investigators were able to smuggle mock explosives or banned weapons through safety checkpoints.

In one test, an undercover was stopped by TSA agents after setting off a magnetometer alarm, but they failed to detect a fake explosive device taped to his back after both a screening and pat down.

To make matters worse, a recent audit reports that the TSA also failed to flag 73 airport workers with ties to terrorism.

The agency of course has a system for screening commercial airport workers, but only has access to a limited amount of terror-related information, making it easier for mistakes like this to happen.

The TSA doesn’t have access to the entire terrorist watchlist, and may not have an effective way of checking certain worker information including criminal history, legal work status and basic identification, CNN reports.

The White House responded to these findings, saying that Obama has confidence in the TSA despite the results of the Red Team’s tests.

“The president does continue to have confidence that the officers of the TSA do very important work that continues to protect the American people,” press secretary Josh Earnest said.

Officials representing Homeland Security insist that the nation’s airports are well protected with layers of security to enforce safe travel.

However, U.S. officials also admit that these results are disappointing and that changes have already been made at airports to address these vulnerabilities.

Still Fighting Child Abuse Charges, Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson May Also Face Drug Charges After Admission

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson may face possible bond revocation and jail time as prosecutors allege he admitted to using marijuana, which violates the bail conditions of his felony child abuse charge.

Peterson was indicted on charges of negligent injury to a child by a grand jury in May for hitting his son, who normally lives with his mother, with a switch (thin wooden stick) during his stay at Peterson’s home north of Houston, Fox Sports said.

Adrian Peterson

Police have not released details about the case, CNN said, but Peterson did turn himself in and was released Sept. 12 on a $15,000 bond with one of the conditions including mandatory drug testing.

The Washington Post reports that documents from TMZ and Fox Houston say that Peterson admitted to an employee of the drug testing company Wednesday while giving a urine sample that he had “smoked a little weed,” but it is unclear whether he failed the test.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon asked the primary judge in the case, Kelly Case, to arrest Peterson again and revoke his bond for using drugs and violating the conditions of his bail.

Judge Case may raise the bond amount or rearrest Peterson and require him to pay another bond, but it is unclear when Ligon’s request against Peterson will be ruled on because he has also made a request for Case to recuse himself after he made comments that the lead prosecutors in the case were “media whores,” The Washington Post said.

Rusty Hardin, Peterson’s attorney, said in a statement that Ligon’s motion to revoke Peterson’s bond will come up only when it’s known which judge will hear the case, and the defense will respond at that time, Fox Sports said.

Currently, Peterson remains free on bond. He was deactivated by the Vikings on Sept. 17 and continues to receive his full $11.75 million salary although he can not participate in any team activities.

Peterson is considered one of the best running backs in the NFL, according to CNN, and signed a seven-year contract with the Vikings worth more than $100 million in 2011.

Peterson has defended himself saying that he’s “not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser,” CNN reports. Hardin said his client didn’t mean to harm his son, but was disciplining him like “he experienced as a child growing up in East Texas.

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