US unable to ensure safety of own citizens: Poll

Forty-five percent of people responding to a Press TV poll say they believe the US government is unable to ensure the safety of its citizens in the wake of recent shooting incidents plaguing the country.

The data, gathered from December 30, 2012 to January 9, 2013, also found that 34 percent of respondents saw proposal by the United States’ top gun lobby, National Rifle Association (NRA), to place armed guards in all US schools as a strategy to sell more guns and reap more benefits.

The poll also showed that 21 percent considered arming school staff the best way to prevent gun massacres in US schools.

On December 21, 2012, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said that guns protect American children at schools and called for armed police officers to be posted in every school across the country.

There have been several deadly shootings across the United States over the several past months.

On December 14, 2012, 20 children and six adults were killed by a gunman — who later killed himself — at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The assailant had also killed his mother earlier in the day.

In another shooting incident a week later, four people, including the shooter, were killed in the state of Pennsylvania. A number of police officers were also injured in the exchange of fire.

After the Sandy Hook massacre, a Gallup poll found that the majority of Americans would like stricter gun laws and a ban on high-capacity firearms.

Over 100,000 US citizens have signed the White House’s We the People petition on line, asking the administration of President Barack Obama to make gun laws stricter and to promote a national debate on gun control.