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              UN Calls on US to Adopt Strong Gun Control Measures

   by Lisa Schlein

   United Nations human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein is urging the
   United States to adopt strong gun control measures to protect its
   citizens from the kind of violence that killed 49 people and wounded
   more than 50 others in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida Sunday.

   High Commissioner Zeid said the ease with which people in the United
   States are able to buy firearms, including assault rifles, defies all
   reason. He said almost anyone, even people with prior criminal records,
   with histories of domestic violence and mental illness or direct
   contact with extremists, domestic and foreign, has no trouble
   purchasing high-powered weapons designed to kill.

   His spokesman, Rupert Colville, said the most vulnerable communities
   and minorities are paying a high price for the failure of politicians
   to stand up to gun rights supporters.  The powerful U.S. gun lobby, led
   chiefly by the National Rifle Association, has fought off numerous gun
   control efforts in the country, even after deadly attacks like the
   Orlando massacre that caught the attention of the nation.

   "Irresponsible pro-gun propaganda suggests that firearms make society
   safer, when all the evidence points to the contrary. In the high
   commissioner's words, the ready availability of guns leaves little
   space between murderous impulses and actions that result in death. The
   journey between hate-filled beliefs and violent hate crimes is
   accelerated," said Colville.

   The high commissioner said it is particularly reprehensible that the
   Orlando massacre is already being utilized to promote homophobic and
   Islamophobic sentiments.  Spokesman Colville told VOA it is
   irresponsible and dangerous for U.S. politicians to blame mass killings
   on Muslim terrorists and to call for a ban on Muslims entering the
   country.

   "Many of the killings in the United States are white male non-Muslim
   gunmen. So, I think to pick on just a few Muslim cases and make that
   appear like it is a general problem is utterly pernicious," said
   Colville.

   The U.N. refugee agency rejects suggestions by some politicians that
   refugees are likely terrorists and should not be allowed to resettle in
   the U.S. UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told VOA all refugees are
   extensively vetted before they arrive in the U.S.

   He said refugees are not terrorists, but people fleeing conflict and
   guns, and are in need of protection.
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   ntrol-measures/3376676.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-calls-on-us-to-adopt-strong-gun-control-measures/3376676.html