STUDENT REPLIES
Post a brief description of the human rights violation you selected. Then explain one way in which the human rights violation might affect the global perception of the United States. Be specific.
Note: Identify the domestic human rights violations you selected in the first line of your post. Respond to a colleague who selected a domestic human rights violations different than the one you selected.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.
STUDENT REPLY #1 Alicia Bruce
RIGHT TO LIFE AND SECURITY OF THE PERSON
Article I state, every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of his person. Article II states, all persons are equal before the law and have the rights and duties established in this Declaration, without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor (CIDH, n.d.). The government’s failure to protect individuals from persistent gun violence continued to violate their human rights, including the right to life, security of the person and freedom from discrimination. Unfettered access to firearms, a lack of comprehensive gun safety laws and a failure to invest in adequate gun violence prevention and intervention programmes continued to perpetuate this violence. In 2018, 39,740 individuals died from gunshot injuries while tens of thousands more are estimated to have sustained gunshot injuries and survived. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased gun sales and shootings, the USA failed in its obligation to prevent deaths from gun violence, which could have been done through a range of urgent measures, including de-listing gun stores as essential businesses (amensty, 2022). “As of 2020, “Stand Your Ground” and “Castle Doctrine” laws, both of which provide for private individuals to use lethal force in self-defense against others when in their homes or feeling threatened, existed in 34 US states. These laws appeared to escalate gun violence and the risk of avoidable deaths or serious injuries, resulting in violations of the right to life(amensty,2022).
Failure to adhere to international human rights standards and protect human rights weakens peace-making, peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts. The United States has been inconsistent in defending human rights abroad and has been complicit in or has committed serious abuses in its foreign policies and engagement. The president should review US policies on the use of force and agencies involved to ensure compliance with international law. When the laws of war do not apply, US personnel should strictly adhere to international human rights law, which prioritizes the right to life and permits the use of lethal force only in the face of an imminent threat to life(hrw,2020).
References
https://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/usa/
Citizen Security and Human Rights
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/11/10/us-president-should-set-human-rights-foreign-policy
STUDENT REPLY #2 Kurtis Corbett
According to (Amnesty International, n.d.) in 2021 one of the most violated rights of humans in the United States was the failure to protect people from persistent gun violence. In 2021, congress did not pass any regulations on access to firearms in the United States. A surge in gun sales during the Covid-19 pandemic, unfettered access to firearms, a lack of comprehensive gun safety laws (including effective regulation of firearm acquisition, possession, and use), and a failure to invest in adequate gun violence prevention and intervention programs, perpetuated this violence. At least 44,000 people were estimated to have been killed by gun violence in 2020. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 some state government authorities exacerbated gun violence by designating gun stores as “essential businesses”. In May, the US Department of Justice proposed a regulation that would update the definitions of “firearm” and related firearm components for the first time since 1968, noting that 23,000 un-serialized firearms (known as “ghost guns”) were reported to have been recovered by law enforcement from potential crime scenes between 2016 and 2020. In November 2021, the US Supreme Court heard its first case regarding gun rights in over a decade. The eventual decision in this case could determine whether individuals may carry a firearm in public without demonstrating “proper cause” or meeting licensing thresholds.
I believe the lack of consistent gun laws in the United States sends a message of instability to the global community. Gun laws vary from state to state depending on where you live, travel to, or purchase a firearm. I believe that the global community views the United States of America as the “wild wild west” when it comes to personal firearm possession and ammunition ownership. New York has some of the strictest gun laws in the United States and gun violence continues to surge in that state. According to (Watkins & Closson, 2022) Shootings in New York City rose during 2022’s first quarter compared with the same period last year, even as homicides declined, police officials said Wednesday afternoon, the continuation of a drumbeat of violence that emerged early in the pandemic and has not ebbed with the virus. Shooting incidents increased from 260 to 296 in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the latest Police Department statistics, which include the first three days of April.
References
Amnesty International. (n.d.). United States of America Archives. https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/north-america/united-states-of-america/report-united-states-of-america/
Watkins, A., & Closson, T. (2022, April 12). Shootings Rise in New York, Coloring Perceptions of City’s Safety. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/06/nyregion/shootings-new-york-city-safety.html
PROFESSOR REPLY #3
. What can we do as criminal justice practitioners or as community members to address discrimination within our own communities?
