05/27/2022
“Unique to the U.S.
In every country, people get into arguments, hold racist views or suffer from mental health issues.
But in the U.S., it is easier for those people to pick up a gun and shoot someone.
That reality is what allowed an 18-year-old to obtain an assault rifle and kill 19 children and two teachers at an elementary school classroom in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday.
And it is what makes the U.S. a global outlier when it comes to gun violence, with more gun deaths than any of its peers.” - NY Times
This is an understatement. Look at the chart.
In TX alone Beto O’Rourke has suggested a non-partisan starting point:
- ban the AR-15, a weapon of mass destruction used in most of these psychopathic massacres
- universal background checks with a waiting period
- red flag / extreme risk laws
- safe storage laws
All of those have bi-partisan support.
The 2nd amendment has nothing to do with this. Nor was the 2nd amendment created to petition our government for redress of grievances.
That’s what the 1st amendment and voting are for.
The USA has a militarized police force and the most powerful military on earth. It will not be reformed, improved, nor made safer by more guns. It can however get worse, more unstable, chaotic, more insecure and violent.
A few conservative rules on gun purchases and ownership would be a step toward saving lives — ending the tyranny and terrorism of a gun death epidemic due to a lack of basic safety precautions.
NOTE: This NYT chart's data stops at 2019. A USA TODAY analysis of Gun Violence Archive statistics from 2020 shows that mass shootings surged by 47% - counting 611 mass shooting events resulting in 513 deaths and 2,543 injuries. The U.S. ended 2021 with 693 mass shootings, per the Gun Violence Archive.