Gun violence epidemic: Americans 'wrongly' believe self-protection is 'embedded in the Constitution'

In the wake of the Texas elementary school massacre, gun control measures are likely going nowhere in Congress. Aside from several Democratic-controlled states, the majority have taken no action on gun control in recent years or have moved aggressively to expand gun rights. Texas has some of the most gun-friendly laws in the nation and has been the site of some of the deadliest shootings in the U.S. over the past five years. Dr. Cécile Coquet-Mokoko, Professor of US Cultural History & African American Studies at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, tells FRANCE 24 that it's highly unlikely that there will be any gun control reforms passed following this latest deadly mass school shooting. "So what's it going to take?" asks FRANCE 24's Delano D'Souza. "It takes dissociating the idea that you need a gun to be an American citizen," explains Dr. Coquet-Mokoko. "It takes a history lesson about the 2nd Amendment, which was voted on by people who could not even imagine the type of assault weapons we have nowadays." She goes on to describe America's gun culture as a "cherished lifestyle for many rural Americans who just love hunting and having a party together. They don't see the connection with the opioid crisis, with the drug situation, with the consumption of alcohol."