DOCUMENTARY - Gun nation - America's love affair with firearms | DW Documentary

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Gun violence is on the rise in the United States. An estimated 400 million firearms are in private hands. Casualties are at a record high. But the dispute over stricter gun laws is dividing the country.

Various initiatives call for tougher controls. But some people resist these, pointing to the Second Amendment and what they say is their constitutional right to defend themselves. For them, carrying a firearm is part of their American identity.

This documentary paints a portrait of a heavily armed nation. The filmmakers visit places like the ‘Gunsite Academy’ in Arizona - the largest private shooting school in the world. Gun enthusiasts from all over the country practice their marksmanship here. They also meet people like Brandon Wolf, survivor of the devastating gun massacre at the Pulse nightclub. Since the tragedy, he has been fighting for gun law reform. Philip Smith, on the other hand, is the founder of the National African American Gun Association. The organization's declared goal is to get as many African American citizens as possible to take up arms.

Physician Stephanie Bonne sees what firearms can do every day. She works for a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, with an intensive care unit that almost exclusively treats victims of shootings. In her eyes, gun misuse in the U.S. has long counted as a full-blown epidemic.