Gun Violence, Our National Downfall

​For the past several weeks I have been traveling and taking care of family business on the East Coast. During that time, I didn’t read any newspapers, watch TV news, or scour the internet. But during my self-imposed news blackout I couldn’t avoid the sickening stench of gun violence which has brought our country to its knees.  

The recent mass shootings in Buffalo, Uvalde, Tulsa, Philadelphia, and Chattanooga have shaken the country to the core. But these recent gun deaths represent only a tiny fraction of the nearly 19,000 that have already occurred this year in the United States. 

The numbers are staggering. Since the beginning of 2019, over 147,000 people have been killed in this country by guns,  https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/. Contrast that number to the combined total of U.S. combat deaths in the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars of 86,698. There have been several times more civilian deaths in the United States by guns than the total civilian casualty rate in Ukraine since the Russian invasion. Ukraine is an active war zone, but the United States is at “peace”.

The laws in the United States allow the carnage wrought from guns, and make our streets more dangerous, not safer. The shooters in Buffalo and Uvalde obtained their military style assault weapons legally. The twisted interpretation of the 2nd Amendment and the religious fervor in which gun rights are defended, have brought the country to this sorry state of affairs.
​
I have written extensively on the 2nd Amendment and other gun related issues in my four-part blog series, “Guns in America”. I will not repeat myself here. You can follow this link if you are interested in revisiting the series, https://armchairamerican.com/blog/guns-in-america-part-4-common-sense-gun-reforms.

​Arming the “good guys” is a juvenile and pathetic response by some on the right. Here is a list of some of the reforms that I advocate for:

• Universal background checks.
• Age-restrictions on gun and ammunition purchases.
• Cooling off periods.
• Assault weapons ban.
• High-capacity magazine ban.
• Red flag laws.
• Mandatory licensing and training.
• Ghost gun ban.
• Prohibition on open-carry.
• Require gun owners to carry liability insurance.
• Hold gun manufacturers accountable for how their products are marketed and used.
• Treat gun violence as the Public Health crisis that it is.

 
 
Will the politicians finally find the courage to enact meaningful gun control legislation? I’m not optimistic. If the national sickness of gun violence isn’t curtailed (it will never be stopped completely), it will continue to weaken the moral fabric of our country. We can’t let that happen. The worse thing that we as citizens can do is to become numb to gun violence. We need to let our politicians at the state and federal levels know that enough is enough, and it is time to end the national nightmare of gun violence.

​If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com.

Thanks,
Armchair American