Mexican President urges stepping up gun control in US in wake of Trump shooting

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged the US government to better regulate weapons sales following the campaign rally shooting of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

Mexican President urges stepping up gun control in US in wake of Trump shooting
Source: IANS

Mexico City, July 17 (IANS) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador urged the US government to better regulate weapons sales following the campaign rally shooting of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

At his daily press conference, the Mexican president also called on Trump and the current US president, Joe Biden, to sign "a commitment to regulate the sale of guns" if they win a second term, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I think it would help a lot to control the sale of weapons in the United States, it is something that urgently needs to be done," Lopez Obrador told reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City.

The United States is undergoing a "social crisis" that must be resolved from the roots, he added.

At a rally where Trump spoke on Saturday, a man fired various shots at the candidate, wounding his right ear.

According to Lopez Obrador, since he took office in December 2018, Mexican authorities have seized 50,000 weapons, about 75 per cent of which were smuggled into Mexico from the United States, particularly the state of Texas.

Mexico's government has repeatedly called on the United States to adopt tougher gun laws to reduce the supply of weapons and stem arms trafficking into Mexican territory.

--IANS

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