The misdemeanor weapons charge against murder defendant Kyle Rittenhouse has been dismissed by a judge. The verdict is likely to lead to a debate on how to fix poorly worded and unclear Wisconsin legislation, as the judge and other legal experts put it.
The high-profile trial for killing 2 men and injuring another during disturbances in Wisconsin has further deepened the political and racial divisions. Access to lethal automatic in America is also being expanded and has led to fears that it could cause dangerous encounters.
Kyle Rittenhouse claimed he shot in self-defense from his automatic weapon after being attacked. But it has caused concerns about the message that an acquittal will send.
It will lead to a feeling that turning up at a potential conflagration point heavily armed invites no consequences. And when the situation escalates, one can always shoot their way out of trouble.
Rittenhouse Case Comes Against Lenient Gun Laws
The Rittenhouse case comes against the backdrop of more lenient gun laws and even the US Supreme Court is poised to throw out strict gun laws in New York. It has led to spiraling violence and also sales of guns.
But opponents of gun legislation argue that confrontations are extremely rare and say that political and racial divisions are more to blame.
More powerful automatic weapons are available in the US thanks to laws written when the west was indeed wild. The concept remains that Americans can get away with using disproportionately lethal force when they feel threatened, as long as they are not the initial aggressor. But working out the initial aggressors and the responders are is difficult in a fluid situation.
In effect, the Rittenhouse case says that someone below 18 can legally have a gun or shotgun as long as the barrel is more than 12 inches. It proves that the American gun culture has gone completely out of control, though others might think otherwise.
