London-based human rights organization Amnesty International has just issued a travel warning for potential visitors of the U.S. in wake of this weekend’s mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, which saw the death of at least 31 people between the two cities.
The travel advisory also suggests visitors be “wary of the ubiquity of firearms” and to “avoid places where large numbers of people gather” such as cultural landmarks, places of worship, food festivals, and “local bars, nightclubs, and casinos.” The advisory states:
The Amnesty International Travel Advisory for the country of the United States of America calls on people worldwide to exercise caution and have an emergency contingency plan when traveling throughout the USA. This Travel Advisory is being issued in light of ongoing high levels of gun violence in the country…
Depending on the traveler’s gender identity, race, country of origin, ethnic background, or sexual orientation, they may be at a higher risk of being targeted with gun violence and should plan accordingly.
While the travel advisory is largely symbolic and meant to mirror the U.S. Department of State’s practice of issuing travel warnings for other countries, CNN reports that both Uruguay and Venezuela have issued similar warnings to prospective travelers in their respective countries.
Uruguay’s Office of Foreign Ministry issued their advisory on Monday, warning those traveling to the U.S. should “take precaution amid the growing indiscriminately violence, specifically hate crimes including racism and discrimination” and pointed to the “indiscriminate possession of firearms by the population” as a primary reason for the warning. Venezuela soon followed suit also citing the proliferation of firearms and the U.S. government’s lack of action as deciding factors.
The U.S. Department of State Travel Advisory lists Uruguay at level two, which indicates increased caution when traveling and lists Venezuela at the highest level four, which would indicate that it is not safe to travel to.