Gun control

Terrorism, wars….and guns. The biggest mistake is fatalism: things happen, you know. Not according to me. We should never get used to the ritual of shock and horror, thinking that nothing will change, accepting all those realities. Since 9/11 150.000 Americans have been killed by guns: 3 Vietnams. But I don’t see any evidence of intention to limit or somewhat regulate guns purchases. We, Europeans, look at that number quite astonished. How’s that possible?! Conveniently many politicians point fingers at mental health issues (oh, yes: some of them blame video games). But they all know that’s not the real point. The point is that gun lobbies are extremely powerful and they very powerfully nourish the concept of the presumed guns culture.

Quite often a new tragedy happens and relative ongoing criticism. Then…nothing else. Till when? So gun control groups are increasingly taking their case directly to the public. Maybe that’s the only effective solution. We can all see those kind of tweets on Twitter, for example. The best campaign is to pressure the public considering guns as any other possible danger to public health: do you care about your wellbeing? Do you smoke? Do you eat properly whenever possible? And so on, the concept is identical.

The message is that the main reason guns cause the deaths of so many Americans is just that America has so many guns. In other countries, like Australia, a proper regulation has been introduced after mass shootings. The result is an 80 percent decline in the rate of suicides.

At least, a background check should be carried out: it’s inexplicable that people on no-fly lists can buy guns. Isn’t that a contradiction? Although it wouldn’t be very effective in avoiding mass shooting, has to be considered a matter of principle anyway, in my view. Another consideration is that the overwhelmingly majority of homicides are between two people and so, all in all, a system of background checks could at least serve as a future deterrent. Similarly licenses should be revoked to dealers who knowingly supply guns to people not allowed to buy them as a result of the checks carried out.

Statistically there are far fewer deaths in states with more restrictive rules on firearms and fewer guns around. The same similarity can be noted in states with the most lax laws on guns having higher numbers in suicides and homicides. The connection is crystal clear and evident. The only way to effectively reduce gun homicides is gun control: there are no other ways (of course the first step would be reducing lobbying and pandering politicians). The availability of firearms viciously feeds the problem.

I know, THE “Second Amendment” is like THE Bible for Americans: the right to own guns for defence. Not limiting the right the Government has to legally restrict their sales, though. They are two completely different matters. All the rest is merely rhetoric properly used in favour of the right to own them: but it’s not a right, it has become a claim. I.e., in parallel, just because the First Amendment exists, do you allow your children to watch pornography, do you constantly hear offensive words during a TV show, do politicians (except one "odd") say whatever they want wherever they want regardless? So….same point with gun rights.

If Americans really desire things to change about gun violence, they must realize that only THE People can change that, sorry! There are no quick loopholes.

….Always humble,

Angiolino