Gun control campaigners are winning the battle to impose new firearms laws across the USA in the wake of February’s mass shooting at a Florida high school.
While gridlock in Washington and the reluctance of the Trump administration to take on the gun lobby has led to little being done by the federal government, the same cannot be said for individual states where more than half have brought in new legislation.
The issue is also high on the agenda in the mid-term elections next month where, in addition to congressional races, voters in 36 of the 50 states will vote for a governor.
Clearly, the political landscape has changed.
While the US is unlikely to ban private ownership of guns, the argument against tighter controls — on the grounds that they undermine Americans’ rights to bear arms under the constitution's Second Amendment — is resonating less among voters.
The message has not been lost on Rick Scott, Florida’s Republican governor who faced two mass shootings during his term — the 2016 slaughter of 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando and February’s shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 14 students and three staff dead.
Florida Republicans and Democrats joined forces to bring in a raft of controls, from raising the minimum age of gun ownership to 21 to imposing a three-day waiting period on all gun sales.
Florida was among nine states to outlaw bump stocks, devices which make it possible to unleash a rapid and deadly volley of bullets with a semi-automatic weapon.
“Every student in Florida has the right to learn in a safe environment, and every parent has the right to send their kids to school knowing that they will return safely at the end of the day,” Mr Scott said when he signed the bill.
Rather pointedly, he added: “This is a far different way of operating than the typical inefficiency we see from the federal government in Washington.
“Politics in DC seems to always get in the way of actually enacting measures that will help American families.”
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The evidence suggests that Mr Scott’s views are shared by the majority of governors throughout the US.
Since the Parkland shooting, 26 states have passed a total of 66 separate gun control measures.
Six states have brought in legislation requiring buyers to undergo background checks before they can receive their weapons. Eight states have passed laws allowing the authorities to impose “extreme risk protection orders" under which firearms can be confiscated from an person who poses a threat to themselves and others.
Nine states have barred domestic abusers from owning guns, and six have tightened laws which allow people to carry concealed weapons in public.
“It's clear that so much of the conversation changed after the Parkland massacre,” said Max Samis, spokesman for the Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“It galvanised the nation and a lot of the credit must go to the students of Parkland and the 'March for Our Lives' when students throughout the US took to the streets to demand tougher laws.”
While the Democrats are making the running on the issue, Rick Scott is not the only Republican governor ready to act.
Governor Phil Scott of Vermont, who once was given an A rating by the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby group, signed off on the most restrictive laws in the state’s history.
He acted after police foiled an alleged plot by a shooter to stage a massacre at a local high school. He not only raised the minimum age for gun ownership to 21, but also gave police powers to confiscate weapons, tightened controls on firearm sales and limited the number of rounds a weapon could fire without reloading.
Mr Scott was pilloried by NRA supporters who accused him of treachery to the cause of gun ownership.
Larry Hogan, the Republican governor of Maryland, has infuriated the NRA by turning down the group’s money.
The gun lobby group seems to be on the back foot, with current figures showing that it is being outspent by its opponents in state elections.
Candidates across the country appear to be burnishing their anti-gun credentials as association with the NRA becomes increasingly toxic.
“I think what makes it unique is the volume of public support. Polling shows that these are changes the overwhelming majority of people want,” said Andrew Patrick, media director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
“I think it is going to be a huge issue in the mid-term elections," he said.
“I believe the NRA is in its weakest position for some time with it facing highest disapproval rating for years.
“I don’t think they are used to being held at arm’s length.”
The NRA was approached but declined to comment.
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If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
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TRAP
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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