These countries have US travel warnings regarding gun violence
Travel advisories
American travelers tend to be familiar with the US State Department travel advisories, which warns them of terrorism threats, war, crime rates, and other security concerns that might surround a country.
International concerns over gun violence in the US
But what do other countries tell their citizens about traveling to the US? After all, America’s gun violence has been escalating and mass shootings have made international headlines in the past few years.
New Zealand
Australia’s island neighbor categorizes the US in a level 2 out of 4, telling its citizens to “exercise increased caution due to the threat of terrorism” in their SAFE TRAVEL government website.
Domestic-based extremists
“The United States remains a target of terrorist interest, both from international terror groups and from domestic-based extremists”, reads the travel advisory.
Be aware of your surroundings in public spaces
Moreover, it advices travelers to be aware of their surroundings in public places “such as shopping malls, markets, monuments, tourist destinations demonstrations, large gatherings and on public transport.”
Active shooter response pamphlet
SAFE TRAVEL then guides New Zealanders to an active shooter response pamphlet put out by the US Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency.
Japan
Japan is another country that warns its citizens “one of the main security concerns in the United States is gun crime”.
How to act in an active shooter situation
The webpage offers a lot of advice for getting out of or hunkering down in possible active shooter situations, according to CNN travel.
Canada
Although Canada advices its citizens to take “normal” security precautions when traveling to the US, it reminds them that “the rate of firearm possession in the US is high” and that “it’s legal in many states for US citizens to openly carry firearms in public”, per travel.gc.ca.
The risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time
Moreover, it reminds Canadians of mass shootings and tells them that “although tourists are rarely involved, there is a risk of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Familiarize with active shooter response
They also advice travelers to familiarize themselves on how to response to an active shooter situation and provide a link to the guide by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Drug trafficking incidents on the border with Mexico
Canada also warns travelers about criminal incidents associated with drug trafficking, which are frequent at the border with Mexico, in the states of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas.
United Kingdom
The UK government tells travelers that “mass shootings can occur, but account for a very small percentage of homicide deaths.”
A link to the Homeland Security website
Nevertheless, they share the link to the webpage of the US Department of Homeland Security to know what to do “in such an incident.”
Germany
The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminds its citizens that “it is easy to obtain guns in the United States, leading to increased use of guns and occasional killing sprees.”
Increase of arms purchases
The German government website adds that “the number of arms and ammunition purchases has increased significantly since the COVID-19 crisis.”
Mexico
Even though Mexico has its own safety concerns, the government also advices travelers to be cautious when visiting their northern neighbor.
Opposition to immigration has led to extremist attacks
The Mexican government’s overseas travel alert webpage notes that “historical racial and ethnic tension, including opposition to immigration, have led to attacks by violent extremist groups.”
El Paso 2019 hate crime
Afterwards it goes on to mention the mass shooting at El Paso, Texas that took place in a Wal-Mart in 2019, in which 23 people were killed, mostly latinos, and which was later declared a hate crime.
More than 500 mass shootings in 2023
There have been more than 500 mass shootings across the US so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Two mass shootings a day on average
Moreover, the gun violence database shows that in each of the last three years, there have been more than 600 mass shootings, almost two a day on average.
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