'A Guarantee of Not Being Shot Is Impossible': Amnesty Issues Global Travel Warning to All People in the United States

A demonstrator holds a sign depicting an assault rifle at a protest against President Trump's visit, following a mass shooting which left at least 22 people dead, on August 7, 2019 in El Paso, Texas. Protestors also called for gun control and denounced white supremacy. Trump is scheduled to visit the city today. A 21-year-old white male suspect remains in custody in El Paso which sits along the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

'A Guarantee of Not Being Shot Is Impossible': Amnesty Issues Global Travel Warning to All People in the United States

Anyone in the U.S., the group warned, "should remain cautious that the country does not adequately protect people's right to be safe, regardless of who they might be."

Just as other individual countries have done in the days following a pair of shooting massacres that took place in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio over the weekend, Amnesty International on Wednesday afternoon issued a global travel warning for anyone currently traveling--or planning to travel--to the United States.

"By prioritizing gun ownership over basic human rights, the U.S. government is willfully and systematically failing on multiple levels and ignoring its international obligations to protect people's rights and safety." --Amnesty International

The travel advisory put out by the human rights groups urges "people worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan when traveling throughout the USA."

The advisory, the group said, has been "issued in light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country," which it referred to as human rights crisis.

Mariya Parodi, a press officer for Amnesty International USA, told Common Dreams that the U.S. section of the international human rights organization has "never before issued travel warnings like this one."

Here's what the official Amnesty International Travel Advisory, which includes warnings and guidance, looks like:

People from around the world currently or soon to be traveling in the United States, said Ernest Coverson, campaign manager for the End Gun Violence Campaign at Amnesty International USA, "should remain cautious that the country does not adequately protect people's right to be safe, regardless of who they might be."

Coverson noted that those in the U.S. under current conditions "cannot reasonably expect to be free from harm--a guarantee of not being shot is impossible. Once again, it is chillingly clear that the U.S. government is unwilling to ensure protection against gun violence."

According to a statement by Amnesty:

The action called attention to the extent to which all aspects of life in the United States have been compromised in some way by unfettered access to guns, without comprehensive and uniform regulation of their acquisition and use. By prioritizing gun ownership over basic human rights, the U.S. government is willfully and systematically failing on multiple levels and ignoring its international obligations to protect people's rights and safety.

Amnesty International has been calling for common sense reform regarding the use and possession of firearms, including comprehensive background checks, national regulations for registering and licensing firearms, required training, a ban on high capacity magazines/assault weapons, and mandatory safe-storage laws. Amnesty International USA's campaign to end gun violence has focused efforts on passing S.42., the Assault Weapons ban, and the Disarm Hate Act.

On Tuesday, as Common Dreams reported, both Venezuela and Uruguay issued travel warnings to their citizens who might be in the U.S. and other nations have reportedly taken similar actions.

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