Sorry to have been out of touch. Too much going on I didn’t want to discuss in a public forum. Still don’t. Recent events are devastating. My thoughts best encapsulated below. Nancy > All points are good ones. But it is instructive to look at gun homicide in > industrialized countries. These are the numbers per 100,000 people in a > couple with comparable socio-economic status to us: > > Australia: .14 > Belgium: .68 > Canada: .51 > England: .07 > France: .06 > Germany: .19 > Sweden: .14 > > United States: 2.97 > > The US has less than 5% of the world’s population but has approximately > (it’s difficult to get an exact number here) 45% of the civilian owned > guns. More guns, more gun deaths. > > There is a significant correlation between the proportion of people in a > state who own a gun and the murder rate in that state. More guns, more gun > deaths. > > All other things being equal, one utterly compelling fact comes though: > the more guns there are the higher the rate of death from a firearm. > > The question of how to go about dealing with this simple and unassailable > fact isn’t easy to answer. But we have got to do something to reduce the > violence. It’s killing our children, eating us up emotionally, shredding > communities and pitting good people against each other. > > Some things seem fairly obvious (at least to this liberal): > > a. ban assault weapons — no civilian needs an assault weapon. They exist > for a single reason: to kill many people. Ditto for high-powered ammo and > rapid fire rifles. > > b. institute a voluntary gun buy-back — melt down the guns turned in > and build a monument to the children who have been slaughtered by those > assault weapons > > c. close down the gun shows where anyone can buy any weapon with no check > other than whether his/her credit card is approved. regulated gun shows > can, of course, continue just like shows for any other commodity. > > d. require background checks for anyone who wishes to purchase a gun — > heck, we do this for anyone who wants a mortgage, a passport or a Nexus > card (for crossing the Canadian or Mexican borders) > > e. require a re-application after five years — heck, we do this for > drivers’ licenses. > > None of these would violate the 2nd Amendment. None would cause problems > for skeet shooters, rifle-range enthusiasts, hunters or people who feel > they want a gun for their own personal protection. > > Finally, there are some things that get glossed over in the debates: > > a. The myth of the lone gunman stopping a robbery or taking out the bad > guy in the mall or stopping the intruder coming through the window is … a > myth. These things happen in novels and movies. They virtually never happen > in the “real world.” > > b. In most cases where a guy with a gun tries to stop a guy with a gun it > goes badly. Within the last month a pastor killed his own granddaughter who > he thought was an intruder and a home owner shot and killed a 12 and a 13 > year-old who were friends of his son whom he thought were trying to break > into his house. > > c. even if you manage to kill an intruder the psychological costs of this > act are terrible. We get so used to seeing Clint Eastwood or Bruce Willis mow > down the bad guys and then go home and pour a beer that we fail to > appreciate the horrific mental toll of actually killing someone. Talk to a > soldier who’s actually killed someone up close and personal. Talk to a cop. > It’s devastating
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December 23rd, 2012 at 11:09 AM
I’m a retired police officer, and I think we need to ban assault weapons, and reduce the amount of bullets that can be fired in any weapon. Close the gun show loophole and by the way we have the loophole here in Nevada. I wrote my Representatives and they have yet to get back with me. Dean Heller and Joe Heck both want to keep the gun show loophole and are ignoring me. This loophole is nuts. The NRA only cares about protecting the gun manufactures and collecting dues. If their members would cancel their memberships and people would ban the corporations that support the NRA that would make a difference. As always “Follow the Money.”
May 26th, 2013 at 9:33 AM
Dear Nancy,
Thomas Chalmers (1836) is credited with the statement ” There is nothing more uncommon than common sense “.
I wish you well in your quest. It seems you have the backing of over 90% of Americans. This, sadly, seems to carry little weight with your representatives.