I’m currently holding plane tickets for a vacation in the United States next month. I just came across the following report from ABC News:

A gunman has killed eight people in a nursing home in the town of Carthage, North Carolina, and injured others including a police officer.

…Small town America has often borne the brunt of outbursts of gun violence.

Earlier this month, a 28-year-old out of work man killed 10 people, including his mother and a toddler, in a shooting rampage through two counties in the southern state of Alabama, the worst in the state’s history.

In December, a man dressed in a Santa suit opened fire at a Christmas party being given by his ex-wife in Covina, California, killing nine people before shooting himself.

In October, an ex-convict opened fire with an assault rifle at a man and two children who had come to trick or treat at his home in Sumter, South Carolina on Halloween. A 12-year-old boy died of his wounds in that incident.

In September, a mentally ill man shot eight people, killing six, in Alger, Washington a month after being released from prison.

There are constant calls for US gun laws, tied to the second amendment of the US Constitution guaranteeing the right to bear arms, to be re-examined.

But they stumble in face of opposition from the powerful gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association.

Can anyone familiar with the US advise me – is it safe to travel there? Am I better off eating the nonrefundable fare and staying here in Mexico?