The American Congress confronted with the chilling testimony of a girl survivor of the Uvalde massacre – Le Figaro

The House of Representatives voted Wednesday night in favor of a bill that would ban the sale of semi-automatic rifles to those under 21 and that of high-capacity magazines. ‘I don’t want this to happen again’: Miah Cerrillo, a girl who covered herself in her friend’s blood to escape the perpetrator of a Texas school shooting, testified before the US Congress on Wednesday, more than ever under pressure to adopt control measures for firearms. On May 24, an 18-year-old high school student carrying an assault rifle killed 19 schoolchildren and two female teachers at a school in Uvalde, a town west of San Antonio. To read also Killing in Texas: “For some Americans, including Democrats, the firearm is a cultural object” The shooter “said “Good night” to my teacher and he shot her in the head. Then he shot some of my comrades and the painting,” the 11-year-old girl testified during a hearing at the Capitol on the “epidemic of gun violence”. “When I got close to the backpacks, he shot my friend who was right next to me and I thought he was going to come back into the room,” said the little girl with glasses in broadcast comments. by video. “So I took some blood and smeared it all over myself…I was quiet, then I grabbed my teacher’s phone and called (the emergency number) 911.” Miah Cerrillo assured that she no longer felt safe at school. “I don’t want this to happen again,” she implored. Present at the hearing, his father Miguel tearfully claimed that Miah was “no longer the same little girl he used to play with”. “Schools are no longer safe, something really has to change,” he pleaded. The United States Congress, which is currently debating a limited regulation of firearms after decades of inaction, has also been confronted with the testimony of Roy Guerrero, a pediatrician from Uvalde, who described the bodies of children ” pulverized”, “decapitated”, “torn to pieces” by the bullets. “What I can’t understand is whether our politicians let us down out of stubbornness, passivity, or both,” he said. Bodies of children “pulverized” Zeneta Everhart, whose 21-year-old boy survived the racist massacre of a Buffalo supermarket last month, also challenged elected officials. “My son Zaire has a hole on the right side of his neck, two on his back, and another on his left leg, caused by the impact of an AR-15 (assault rifle) bullet. By cleaning his wounds I can still feel pieces of bullet in his back, ”she said. “Now I want you to imagine this exact scenario for one of your children.” US President Joe Biden has repeatedly promised to act against this appalling scourge that successive governments have so far been unable to stem. But in a country where nearly one in three adults owns at least one gun, Tories strongly oppose any measures that could run counter to the rights of “law-abiding citizens”. The narrow majority of Joe Biden’s party in Congress does not allow him to pass a gun law alone, so the challenge is to find measures that could obtain the support of Republicans. Read also“Weapons are in the DNA of the United States”: journey to the heart of American excess Discussions in the Senate are currently revolving around limited proposals, such as the verification of the criminal or psychological background of arms buyers individuals, which associations have been asking for for years. Its Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had indicated Thursday that the upper house would vote on “firearms control measures”, without giving more details. At the same time, the House of Representatives voted Wednesday evening in favor of another major bill which would, among other things, ban the sale of semi-automatic rifles to those under 21 and that of high-capacity magazines. These measures are strongly criticized by the Republican opposition. It therefore seems impossible that they can pass the stage of the Senate, where the support of 10 conservatives is necessary because of the rules of qualified majority.