Anglais lieux et formes de pouvoir

Hello, today I am going to talk about the notion places and forms of power. First, the power is the ability to influence the behavior of people in order to live together members of a community who accepts rules and laws. It helps to create social cohesion but can also leads to conflicts and tensions.
To illustrate the notion, I am going to talk about gun violence in the US. I will develop it trough the key question "How did guns become embedded in American culture ?"
First, I will talk about the history of guns in the US, then I will say why it is now in the American culture and to finish the consequences.

I- history

First, we have seen in the documentary "Bowling for Columbine" by Mickael Moore which an humorous film about the United Sates, that the use of arms started in about 1620 with the arrival of the Pilgrims who used guns against NAtive Americans. In 1775, they passed the 2nd amendmentand it added the constitution in 1791. This law says that "A well militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shell no be infringed". But this have been misunderstood because was made to protect militia only and not to allow each citizen to arm himself in selfdefence or to defend his property.

II -  why in culture

In the USA, guns are embedded in the culture and it can be difficult to understand for european but overthere it is recognize as a banal object. People bear there arm to protect themselve and there family but also to guarantee their liberty.

Nowaday  weapon is a  cultural object in this country, it is inseparable from the legend of the American West. As this culture belongs to all, the sale of arms has also become a popular action: it may seem unthinkable in France, but there are in the United States "gun shows", fairs with weapons, where is presented all the arsenal available on the market. We go in family, we try the guns, then we will train with his children on the range. It is a space of sociability like any other.
It is now possible to buy a gun anywhere, as we saw in a video in which a man gets a gun by opening a bank account. It that makes no sense but it is quite common in the US.
Today, many people would like to make this culture disappear like Barack Obama during his tenure but associations like the NRA formally oppose it and claim their right to bear a gun. This organization supports arms, organizes training programs for children and women. According to them, weapons are no more dangerous than everyday products. It finances the policies so that they promote the NRA.

III - Consequences

This culture has serious consequences. We have seen with the poster from the Brady Campaign that in the US, there are 9484 gun murdered in only one year. It's a lot compared to other countries whose weapons are also allowed. For example in Canada there are less guns murdered but the law is the same than in the US. But this figure is justified by the fact that this culture of arms is so present that people benefit from it, they are attached to and use it more frequently.

Another consequence is the alarming number of mass shootings in schools, the United States enumerate 18 in their history. Several massacres have marked history including the columbine massacre during which two students shot their comrades, killing 12 students and a teacher. The situation is getting worse, since after each mass shooting, arms sales increase considerably.

Also  the firearms homicide rate in the US in 20 times higher than in other rich country. On average, more than 100.000 people are shot each year and 30.000 of them die. More than 1 million people in the US have been killed with a gun since 1968.

More than 23 million arms checks were made in 2015 in the USA, an all-time record. The number of guns sold is far from being reliable as many are sold on the black market or are composed of different parts coming from different arms. 200 million are said to be on the market.