Since you're actually responding to comments and wrote an article with a clear understanding of the politics at play (I personally worked in professional politics for two decades), here's what I sent to a leading progressive think-tank working on these issues back in 2018 after one of the last tragedies:
GunSense:
1. Firearm Insurance - Every firearm should be insured.
2. National Gun Buyback - The government shouldn't take your guns, it should buy them.
3. Tiered Licensing - If you need a license to drive a car, you should need one to own a gun. Plus, special licensing to own special guns, just like motorcycles and big rigs.
4. Bullet Reform - Guns are cheap, but bullets should be expensive. Ban lead in bullets (it's dangerous and very cheap).
It's a good essay & outlines why there's such deadlock over guns in this country. The "passion gap" is real.
However, the "don't worry, gun deaths are rare" mollification at the end isn't at all a comfort when, while it might be true for causes of death for all groups, gun deaths recently became the #1 cause of death for Americans under 20.
Anyway, a thing being "rare" doesn't mean we need to just accept it. Airline crashes are rare compared to car deaths. We still have the FAA and investigate the sh*t out of _every_ crash and actually enforce changes to reduce the chance of the next crash. Imagine if we "black boxed" every mass shooting to the same extent?
"Gun violence doesn’t make the top 10 causes of death, and if gun suicides and homicides are counted as separate categories, they don’t even make the top 20. Gun violence is something we should all be concerned about, but not something we should be living in constant fear or crippling despair over"
Precisely, so I'm concerned about the opportunity cost paid for this article rather than a more pressing, top 20 issue.
Since you're actually responding to comments and wrote an article with a clear understanding of the politics at play (I personally worked in professional politics for two decades), here's what I sent to a leading progressive think-tank working on these issues back in 2018 after one of the last tragedies:
GunSense:
1. Firearm Insurance - Every firearm should be insured.
2. National Gun Buyback - The government shouldn't take your guns, it should buy them.
3. Tiered Licensing - If you need a license to drive a car, you should need one to own a gun. Plus, special licensing to own special guns, just like motorcycles and big rigs.
4. Bullet Reform - Guns are cheap, but bullets should be expensive. Ban lead in bullets (it's dangerous and very cheap).
5. Wife Beaters, Child Molesters, and Rapists Gun Violence Prevention - It's obvious."
Let me know if you want the long version. Keep the faith - apparently, little children in schools are depending us to do so.
It's a good essay & outlines why there's such deadlock over guns in this country. The "passion gap" is real.
However, the "don't worry, gun deaths are rare" mollification at the end isn't at all a comfort when, while it might be true for causes of death for all groups, gun deaths recently became the #1 cause of death for Americans under 20.
Anyway, a thing being "rare" doesn't mean we need to just accept it. Airline crashes are rare compared to car deaths. We still have the FAA and investigate the sh*t out of _every_ crash and actually enforce changes to reduce the chance of the next crash. Imagine if we "black boxed" every mass shooting to the same extent?
"Gun violence doesn’t make the top 10 causes of death, and if gun suicides and homicides are counted as separate categories, they don’t even make the top 20. Gun violence is something we should all be concerned about, but not something we should be living in constant fear or crippling despair over"
Precisely, so I'm concerned about the opportunity cost paid for this article rather than a more pressing, top 20 issue.