U.S. fails to improve gun safety amid surge of shootings: report

NEW YORK, April 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Democrats have spent years pledging to address the gun violence that plagues communities across the country, but a surge of mass shootings over the weekend that left dozens wounded and two dead served as a reminder of how little they have accomplished since taking control of Washington 15 months ago, reported ABC on Tuesday.

"The struggle for the Biden administration and Democrats in Congress to enact any meaningful legislation to enhance gun safety reflects how the party's ambitious agenda has been frustratingly stunted by internal squabbling, the persistence of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine," said the report.

The almost complete Republican opposition to Democratic priorities, including gun rules, has hobbled a party with razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate, according to the national broadcaster.

"In an already difficult election year, the inaction threatens to further undermine the coalition of young people, women, voters of color and independents who helped deliver Joe Biden the presidency in 2020 and will be needed again if Democrats are to hold control of Congress," said the report.

In the meantime, more Americans are dying from gun-related injuries than ever before. In 2020, the most recent year for which federal data is available, 19,384 people were killed in gun homicides, a 35 percent increase from the previous year and the largest one-year increase in gun homicides on record, it added.