Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Meanwhile, the prevailing attitude about cannabis across the US is now one of relax-
ing restrictions on it. Some 20 states have supported the legalization of marijuana for
medicinal use, and a handful of states have also decriminalized marijuana, making pos-
session of small amounts of the substance a misdemeanor rather than a felony. All North-
eastern states have one or the other of these laws in place.
Gun Violence
Mass shootings have been occurring with alarming frequency in recent years. Devastat-
ing incidents include the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, massacre, where a heavily armed
20-year-old slaughtered 20 young children and six adults. The following year, a gunman
killed 12 and wounded four in a rampage at the Navy Yard in Washington, DC. On aver-
age, 32 Americans are murdered by guns every day, and another 140 wounded.
Yet despite conclusive evidence (such as a 2013 study published in the prestigious
American Journal of Medicine
) that more guns equals more murders, and the fact that
rates of death by firearms are rare in countries with strict gun laws (such as Australia and
the UK), American legislators have been reluctant to enact even modest gun-control laws
- such as reinstating the ban on assault weapons, which Congress failed to pass in 2013.
One reason: gun lobbies such as the National Rifle Association wield incredible power,
contributing over $16 million annually to state and national political campaigns.
