Well here we are again. Pray for San Bernardino. What's that? Still on your knees from Colorado Springs? Too bad. This is your new reality, America. 300+ mass shootings (defined as 4 or more victims) since the beginning of 2015. More mass shootings than days. 600+ child shootings. This is the legacy of America's gun culture. Make no mistake - we own this. This is American exceptionalism at its finest. We're #1!
So let's address, again, a few of the talking points of the No New Laws extremists.
Knives and Rocks
Argument: bad guys will just find another way. If you ban guns, they'll use knives and rocks. One, not talking about a ban. And two, of course they will! Are knives and rocks as effective at killing? Can you kill 15 people in 2 minutes with a rock? If so, you are total badass. There have been several high-profile knife attacks in Asia. Fatalities were pretty low. I sure wish the killers in Newtown, or at Virginia Tech, or NIU, or San Bernardino had only had knives or rocks. If your child accidentally finds your rock, how likely is it that they will kill a sibling or themselves with your rock?
Cars
More people die in car accident than are killed by firearms each year. Should we just ban cars then?! Again, not talking about a ban.
Cars are used to get to work, see family, socialize, run errands. Lots of important stuff. Guns are used for hunting, entertainment, and self-protection, rather a more limited set of uses than cars. Yet we regulate the hell out of driving. Mandatory insurance. Licensing, registration, and safety training for new drivers. Seatbelts. We regulate the cars as well, to make them as safe as possible. These measures make sense for guns. Licensing, training, insurance, safety locks.
Self-Defense
"I'd rather have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have one!" Unfortunately, those aren't the only options. It is not a given that your gun-for-protection-only will never be used. It's far more likely that the gun you bought for self-protection will be used against you or family member, either intentionally or accidentally, than it is that you will ever use it to ward off an attack. An alarm system at home, mace or pepper spray, even a taser, provide a lot of protection without the same level of devastating possible consequences.
If your depressed teenage son in a fit of angst over some girl attempts suicide, would he try a rope or pills if you have no gun? Could be. But there is a reason that most attempted suicides aren't by gun: they are just too effective. There isn't even the possibility of failure or a second chance.
If your grandchild who is visiting finds your Mace, that you mistakenly left in the nightstand, you might have a visit to the ER for an eye flush, and your daughter-in-law is going to be hugely pissed at you, but your grandchild is going to be alive.
There aren't many home invasion attackers who will continue when a loud, police-summoning alarm is blaring. That also gives me you time to grab that Mace or taser or bat, or other lower-risk option.
It's a Mental Illness Problem, not a Gun Problem
It's both, folks. We don't have any higher rate than of mental illness than other developed country. We do need better access to mental health care. So where is the legislation from the right wing addressing that, since the Republican line is that it's a mental health issue? Words without action are meaningless.
Switzerland!
"Switzerland has super high gun ownership and low crime, so we need MORE guns." Please research this further on your own. Simply put, they have EXTENSIVE training and REQUIRED military service by civilians. No military, no gun. Same with Israel. Regular mental health screenings, training, registration - all of it. Ammunition is tightly controlled at local storage sites.
Chicago!
"Hey Chicago has really strict gun laws and they have the worst gun crime in the country!" Know what Chicago doesn't have? Good neighbors. The guns used in Chicago crime come almost exclusively from OUTSIDE CHICAGO. If you'd like an example of a place with strict gun laws that has seen a corresponding drop in gun crime, look to Hawaii. Why are the laws there working? Because Hawaii is made up of islands and the people who should not be able to get guns can't just drive an hour or so to get one. This is a key reason we need national gun reform. Local and state changes are inadequate when we have open borders between cities and states.
An Armed Society is a Polite Society
Oddly, we aren't known as "Those Polite Americans." An armed society is one in which teenagers are gunned down for listening to loud music. Where a woman shoots at a shoplifter. Where a carjacking victim is shot in the head by someone trying to be a hero and firing at the vehicle. Where road rage escalates into executions. Where throwing popcorn at someone in a movie theater is grounds for shooting. Where drunken bar fights end in death. And on and on and on. In short, it's a society where every man or woman who feels a little taller or stronger with his gun at his side might feel brave enough to start something he wouldn't have if he wasn't armed.
"BUT IT'S MY RIGHT!"
Listen, I'm not a Constitutional scholar, but let's get real: the 2nd Amendment has been abused. It was written when we had no standing army, and that pesky little "well-regulated militia" line is all but forgotten by those who stand screaming, "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED!!!"
If I hear one more time, "what part of 'shall not be infringed' don't you get?" I might scream. Rights have limits, as the Supreme Court has affirmed more than once.
Allow me to be absurd in talking about why I think we do need to regulate the types of weapons that should be in civilian hands. You like to shoot stuff? It's fun? It keeps your home safe? Okay. Well I like to blow stuff up. It's freaking awesome. Who are you to say that I can't have a grenade?! Shall not be infringed! Why are you so afraid of my inanimate object? Why can't people have grenades? I have the right to arm myself as I see fit. I also like small tactical nuclear weapons. Shall not be infringed!
There is simply no rational reason to have an AR-15 or similar weapon. Large-capacity magazines need to go; reducing the number of shots that can fired quickly gives people a window of time in which to escape or fight back. Ten kids in Newtown ran when Adam Lanza stopped to reload. Ten kids who lived. Maybe it would have been more if he had needed to reload earlier. (If you're a Sandy Hook hoaxer, go away. You are dead to me.) These kinds of weapons were completely unheard of when the 2A was written. They have no practical use, other than showing off and feeling tough and they are incredibly deadly - as deadly as a grenade, for example.
Doing nothing is no longer an option. People say, "there's nothing we can do" and that's bullshit. It's way past time to pass some laws. Can we prevent every accidental death, every mass shooting, every domestic violence case where a seemingly great guy turns a gun on his wife or family? Of course not, but that doesn't mean we can't take steps to reduce the carnage. People still die in car accidents, hell my mother died in a car accident, but it doesn't mean I stopped wearing my seatbelt or threw up my hands and decided airbags are worthless. People will always break laws, but can't we find a way to minimize this epidemic?
Contact your Senators. Contact your Representatives. Contact your Governors. DEMAND that meaningful change start. Let's begin by funding the blocked research by the CDC again, because, make no mistake, this is a public health CRISIS. Think of what makes sense for you and take action to MAKE THAT HAPPEN. And if you're one of those who own guns for protection, please think about it long and hard. No one thinks they're going to be that family that has the accident, or the suicide, or the violent snap. But the evidence is clear: in almost every case, you are running a higher risk with that gun in the house than you are of being a victim. Obviously if you have a violent ex or situation where you are in danger, your evaluation may be different, which is one of the reasons why I wouldn't support a full-on ban on firearms.
For me, the ideal changes are pretty comprehensive. Background checks on every sale or transfer between owners. Mandatory jail time for those breaking these laws (empty the prisons of low level drug offenders to make room). Required safety training. Mandatory insurance on every gun. Mandated reporting of gun theft. Free and mandatory safety lock provided with every gun purchase. Charges whenever a minor accesses and brandishes or uses an adult's gun. Limits on magazine capacity. Renewing the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 that expired in 2004.
We can do better. We have to do better. And if you are one of the people who still believe that the current climate is the best we have to offer, you are part of problem.
You've said everything I've been thinking. A by-product of all of this gun violence is the debate that has torn our country apart. I've argued with family & friends that I hold dear and are always so befuddled that they can throw up the reasoning that you have shot down so eloquently (with a splash of your branded humor) here in this one writing. Seriously. How can neighbors, siblings, friends be so far apart on something that seems like common sense in the here and now. The world is evolving, we need to evolve with it. Thank you Shannon for using your talent and writing skills to speak for so many of us softer-spoken folks on the world wide web.
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