"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. "
Second Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)
Back in 1791, those who agreed the wording of The Second Amendment never imagined that America would become the nation it is today. Back then, the population of America was around 2.5 million. Now it is 334 million.
They could not have foreseen how big American cities would become. They could not have imagined motor vehicles, air travel, supermarkets and high rise buildings - let alone gun shops filled with an array of deadly weapons, including automatic rifles.
The way that the gun lobby have clung to The Second Amendment is disingenuous. Those folk want to ignore the fact that time has marched on and it is 230 years since well-meaning men drafted The Second Amendment. They could not have anticipated how their amendment would be so misused to justify gun ownership and the slaughter of innocent victims in shopping malls, schools, workplaces and housing estates.
There were 695 mass shootings in the USA last year in which 762 people were killed and 2,902 were wounded. I emphasise that these were mass shootings in which four or more people were killed or injured at each bloody event. Excluding suicides, 20,138 were killed in shootings in 2022. I repeat that - 20,138 people.
I may be a cleverdick limey who should keep his big nose out of American affairs but please don't shoot me! Instead, listen to this plea. It's time to take stock. It is time to turn the tide on guns and gun ownership. The Second Amendment should be resigned to history where it belongs. It is time to reduce the death figures, the mass shootings figures, the widespread possession of guns that on January 1st 2022 augured 20,138 more killings - including hundreds of innocent children.
How Many More Must Die? Wake Up America!
For me, the fly in the ointment, is that many countries around the world are seeing year to year increases in gun related homicides and most of those have much stricture gun laws than the U.S. Sure their homicides per capita are much lower than the U.S. at any given year which is widely pointed out in media outlets, but it says to me that it isn't necessarily about what guns can be obtained , that it is a worldwide trend and other countries are behind us now but are still experiencing similar problems.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what the solution is but I have theories as to what is driving the rise. My worry is that everyone is focusing on assault style rifles exclusively and not focusing on the overall increasing gun homicide rates.
I don't know anybody who owns a gun. I am guessing that you own a gun or two Ed. In a land of guns I don't blame you for you live in a pretty isolated location.
DeleteI do but for me, it is more of a tool than a weapon for protection. Being around livestock, sometimes a mercy killing is preferable than letting them suffer for weeks. Then there is the ability to hunt for food versus buying it from a supermarket. I don't have problems with the restriction of assault rifles for the average joe. But I think doing so, won't stop school shootings though it may reduce body counts slightly. Is a reduced body count what we really want? I want it to stop completely which means getting at the root cause of why people shoot other people.
DeleteOf course I read your "insider" comment with great interest. I wish all American gun owners were as responsible as you clearly are.
DeleteI fear the wingnuts will never understand that when you have more guns than people in your country, there are topo many guns.
ReplyDeleteIt sickens me; one Republican today basically said there was no solution to this issue.
60% of adult Americans do not own guns so it shows that it is possible to live without them.
DeleteIt is indeed time, and has been for a long time, but that will make no difference. The road leads only further into the depths.
ReplyDeleteProphets of doom are sometimes right.
DeleteI know it's water under the bridge, but The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 should NOT have been allowed to expire in 2004.
ReplyDeleteWith every mass shooting I become more fearful of where the US is headed. We are living in very dangerous times, and I have no idea how to resolve the gun control issue. The subdivision (housing estate) in which I live suffered a mass shooting last year, and I will never hear multiple sirens and the sound of helicopters overhead without feeling gut-clenching fear another mass shooting has occurred nearby.
Stay safe & well, everyone... on both sides on the pond.
Thank you for your heartfelt contribution Damselfly. Peace and love! Peace and love!
Deletethe solution seems to be very simple and it's difficult to see why the solution isn't used.
ReplyDeleteAre they in a Catch 22 situation? Regarding gun killings, Canada seems to be in a much better place.
DeleteWe are in a better place but, the organized gun nuts are trying to pedal their junk here. In other words they want to be able to sell guns and the hell with what happens.
DeleteYou are exactly right, Neil.
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere condolences for the avoidable deaths of all your fellow citizens.
DeleteI heartily endorse your post. The 60% who don't own guns is a statistic I was not aware of.
ReplyDeleteNot all Americans are gun-crazed nutcases.
DeleteFurther, consider this rhetorical question that should be asked of US politicians.
ReplyDelete'You know in the near future there will be another school or public massacre. What are you and your party as lawmakers doing to prevent this from happening?'
Whatever the reply, 'Well, it hasn't worked has it?'.
It's a simple question and needs to be asked again and again and again.
The duty of elected politicians it to stand up for the people - not to attend their funerals after yet another shoot-out at the OK corral.
DeleteOf course though with thoughts and prayers. Even US people are now becoming cynical about thoughts and prayers.
DeleteThis story was covered on our TV news last night and again in the newspaper this morning. The transgender person who is actually 28 and not a teenager "may have resented having to attend the school in the past" HOW IS THAT A REASON TO GO IN THERE AND SHOOT INNOCENT PEOPLE??
ReplyDeleteLots of people may have attended schools not of their choosing and they put it behind them and move on.
How many people are of the mindset that says "they shot at us, we have to retaliate", which is where so much of the violence comes from.
As Damselfly says, the ban on assault weapons should not have been allowed to expire. America just gets more scary by the minute and I despair for its people.
I think the gun issue is starting to put off foreign visitors. Who wants to be shot dead on holiday?
DeleteI will never go there.
DeleteI too despair for the American people.
ReplyDeleteThe more killings, the more certain it will be that many of those who do not have guns will decide to buy one sometime in the not too distant future. Just to protect themselves and loved ones from those who will shoot anyone anywhere, for some imagined wrong, or have mental health issues.
Massacres in the US are an all too frequent occurrence and seem to be increasing. The total number of killings is appalling, and my sympathy is with the families and friends who have lost someone in the shootings.
Am I right to think that gun killings in Spain remain very rare?
DeleteI can remember when British police use to brag that they never carried guns. How times have changed. The problem is worldwide. Any smallholder or farmer can apply and possess a gun licence and gun.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time British cops still do not carry guns but nowadays they dress like space invaders.
DeleteI wholeheartedly agree, even as an American! The gun situation in the USA is insane and it has been for decades. I don't understand the fervency of the "gun nuts" who insist on owning not only one or two guns but 20 or 50.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I don't think the math works in these sentences: "There were 695 mass shootings in the USA last year in which 762 people were killed and 2,902 were wounded. I emphasise that these were mass shootings in which four or more people were killed at each bloody event."
If at least four people were killed at each of 695 mass shootings, that would be many more than 762. Is there a digit missing from that number of fatalities, maybe?
Thanks for pointing out my stupid error Steve. I will amend the blogpost after looking at the figures again.
DeleteDid my comment go to spam? I think it did.
ReplyDeleteThe first Reed comment got through.
DeleteNot a subject I feel qualified to debate, other than just say I am horrified that so many people think it is acceptable to own, and walk around with, guns of any description.
ReplyDeleteWhy can't they carry water pistols instead?
DeleteAnd it was MY (nearby) city where the atrocity took place this week. I cannot fathom why people cannot see that assault weapons should only be for the military - not for individuals. I'm usually ready to see the other guy's side of a disagreement, but this is not a disagreement to me - just right and wrong!
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere condolences for the avoidable deaths of all your fellow citizens.
DeleteWell said, most often unheard. What is needed is a major culture change. The focus on assault rifles is based on most of the mass shootings using them, and the police fearing being out-gunned by them.
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere condolences for the avoidable deaths of all your fellow citizens.
DeleteWhat is there for me to say? It all seems so hopeless now. Do you even have any idea how many of these deadly weapons there are in the country already?
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere condolences for the avoidable deaths of all your fellow citizens. I believe that there are more lethal guns in America than there are people.
DeleteIt feels hopeless. Just hopeless.
ReplyDeletePlease accept my sincere condolences for the avoidable deaths of all your fellow citizens.
DeleteIt is sickening to me.
ReplyDelete