The world is watching America’s battle over gun rights

If you turn on British television or read news overseas, the reporting about America is frightening.

Since the beginning of the year, there have already been 214 mass shootings. Can you imagine being a foreign tourist coming to America? Crowded indoor venues can be frightening to those who want to come to the United States and enjoy museums, concerts, shopping malls and schools.

Guns. Guns. Guns. That is what America looks like to outsiders. 

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently reported that America seems to have the most guns per individual. Quoting a Small Arms Survey by a Swiss-based research organization, the BBC estimated that there were 390 million guns in circulation in the United States in 2018 — a ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents. That tops Yemen, Serbia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Montenegro and others.

Within America, there is deep division.

We live in two nations: one wants more guns in more hands, the other wants to reduce the availability of guns. It comes down to where you live — as in the abortion debate, we have an array of conflicting local and state rules all in a state of flux, leaving fog and confusion in a nation at war with itself.

Just look at the map:

In Virginia, a federal judge just struck down restrictions that prohibited people under the age of 21 from purchasing a handgun from federally licensed firearm dealers. In a 71-page ruling, Judge Robert E. Payne challenged longstanding laws and traditions that kept guns away from minors, siding with gun lobbyists. There will likely be an appeal.

Similarly, a federal judge in Texas ruled earlier this year that a state law banning young adults from carrying handguns is unconstitutional. The state does not plan an appeal.

A House committee in Texas has advanced a bill to raise the age to purchase some firearms from 18 to 21 following a mall shooting. But right now, a college student can take a gun to campus in the state.

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation last month requiring the safe storage of firearms and ammunition around minors.

It is now legal to purchase a pistol without a permit in North Carolina after the state’s GOP-led legislature overrode a veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. And a new bill would allow handguns on school property where religious services are being held, while proposing new rules on safe gun storage and the distribution of free gun locks.

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee has said he will bring the state legislature back for a special summer session to consider gun safety measure following a Nashville school shooting in March.

Georgian Democrats are also demanding a special legislative session to discuss gun safety.

The world is watching us.

Multiple countries are now putting America on a warning list for travelers, including Canada, Australia and England. Even Chinese tourists say they are deterred from coming to America.

Beyond the obvious tragedy of loss of life, injury and physical and emotional trauma resulting from gun violence, this translates into real dollars — every state relies on income from tourism. The federal government has an ambitious five-year plan to welcome 90 million international visitors — estimated to spend $279 billion a year by 2027 — which is now at risk.

Public diplomacy is about a nation’s narrative to those outside its borders. Right now, the message to others around the world is that 50 percent of Americans have dealt with gun violence in the country. And the painful reality is that this situation is not new. More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Regardless of where you stand on gun control, gun safety and the Second Amendment, this is not the image America wants to project into the world. We are getting to a point of no return. Let’s stop arguing and start leading.

Tara D. Sonenshine is a former U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs and teaches at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.