This is what greeted me at the One Stop Market when I went to pick up the paper this morning. It’s what’s called in the newspaper business a “banner headline,” which is to say, a headline that runs margin to margin across the top of the paper. You know why the New York Times a ran banner headline this morning? Because someone woke up. Maybe it was the Times’ executive editor, Dean Baquet. Maybe it was the national editor. Maybe it was the weekend editor, in charge of the Saturday and Sunday newspapers. But someone at the New York Times woke up and realized that gun violence in this country is a pandemic that needs to be covered in this way, with banner headlines that emphasize the size and seriousness of the problem.
Well stated. Also the focus on an assault weapons ban is off the mark. Murder by ANY rifle invluding AR’s is about 1 percent of gun homicides. Most common guns in American gun murders are 38 specials and 9mm handguns if which there are several hundred million out there. Gun control should tightly target WHO can have a gun rather than on what kind of gun. BTW a refocus like that could win some real support among current gun owners.
I just had a couple of ideas about how we could stem this (without invoking the perennial ire of the NRA and the 2nd amendment fanatics) Tax the crap out of all the guns. Much like cigarettes and in an increasing scale every single year. Call it a gun stamp tax. Another-put not just a 7 to 14 day waiting period on any gun sold, make it 6 months to a year. Why do you need a gun any sooner? Make the minimum age to own a gun 25, and make that mandatory, along with mandatory training required before taking the gun home. Much like a car license. Make owning a gun a 'privilege' and not a right, then we might see a huge decrease in shootings.
Then we wonder why the median life expectancy is going down. Simple-we're killing ourselves and each other with ferocity no World War could ever match. Thanks to the GOP and the NRA, we're awash in blood in the streets every single week. We should keep the flag at half staff forever, because we're never going to stop grieving for our dead.
Thank you for this. We need to have our faces shoved into the gore. That might be the only way we'll stop it.
The life dpan drop off has nothing to fo with the number of hun homicides. Indeed twice as many people kill themselves with guns than the number killed. I would argue that the drop off in white lufe span can be sttributed to the growing chasm of inequality and the stress that racks rural and working class America. Indeed the number of deaths from opioid OD’s is three times that of gun violence. THAT cumulative figure might be impacting to some degree the lifespan data.
We are in an episode of Twilight Zone. The lack of leadership from our former president, actually a mass murderer, draft dodger and an insurrectionist, is responsible for the current chaos. This will not stop until he admits his loss and apologizes to the nation he has nearly destroyed.
Wait! Wait! Plus, there was no mention of the TWO shootings in the last few weeks at Omaha’s West side mall—same place where a mass shooter used a semiautomatic at Von Maur a few years ago. So much for upscale shopping in Gov. Pete Ricketts’ sanctuary for gun ownership.
We need to convince elected officials in our hometown, county, state, and US Congress that they have a responsibility to legislate strong restrictions against gun ownership. Mass murders and mass shootings will not end until shooters do not have access to guns.
Serious proposals to tax/ discourage gun ownership would be nice. A requirement for liability insurance might help. Or we could just accept these deaths as we accept Highway deaths. Each is tragic, but simply the price we pay for individual ownership of cars. Or--Go ahead and ask Congress to intervene. Let me know how it turns out.
I would like to read an LT article on the poisoning of Americans by food manufacturers - the use of HFCS in soda, etc. the culpability of Walmart and Coca Cola - name names - toxic food destroys waaaay more American lives than guns.
What struck me especially was "less than 40 percent of gun owners have had any training in safety or shooting of firearms." The number of firearms per capita in this country is staggering, but that statistic is even more so.
Well stated. Also the focus on an assault weapons ban is off the mark. Murder by ANY rifle invluding AR’s is about 1 percent of gun homicides. Most common guns in American gun murders are 38 specials and 9mm handguns if which there are several hundred million out there. Gun control should tightly target WHO can have a gun rather than on what kind of gun. BTW a refocus like that could win some real support among current gun owners.
I just had a couple of ideas about how we could stem this (without invoking the perennial ire of the NRA and the 2nd amendment fanatics) Tax the crap out of all the guns. Much like cigarettes and in an increasing scale every single year. Call it a gun stamp tax. Another-put not just a 7 to 14 day waiting period on any gun sold, make it 6 months to a year. Why do you need a gun any sooner? Make the minimum age to own a gun 25, and make that mandatory, along with mandatory training required before taking the gun home. Much like a car license. Make owning a gun a 'privilege' and not a right, then we might see a huge decrease in shootings.
Then we wonder why the median life expectancy is going down. Simple-we're killing ourselves and each other with ferocity no World War could ever match. Thanks to the GOP and the NRA, we're awash in blood in the streets every single week. We should keep the flag at half staff forever, because we're never going to stop grieving for our dead.
Thank you for this. We need to have our faces shoved into the gore. That might be the only way we'll stop it.
The life dpan drop off has nothing to fo with the number of hun homicides. Indeed twice as many people kill themselves with guns than the number killed. I would argue that the drop off in white lufe span can be sttributed to the growing chasm of inequality and the stress that racks rural and working class America. Indeed the number of deaths from opioid OD’s is three times that of gun violence. THAT cumulative figure might be impacting to some degree the lifespan data.
Not to mention runaway typos...
We are in an episode of Twilight Zone. The lack of leadership from our former president, actually a mass murderer, draft dodger and an insurrectionist, is responsible for the current chaos. This will not stop until he admits his loss and apologizes to the nation he has nearly destroyed.
Wait! Wait! Plus, there was no mention of the TWO shootings in the last few weeks at Omaha’s West side mall—same place where a mass shooter used a semiautomatic at Von Maur a few years ago. So much for upscale shopping in Gov. Pete Ricketts’ sanctuary for gun ownership.
Thank you, Lucian. Unfortunately, your closing paragraph is our national banner headline.
We need to convince elected officials in our hometown, county, state, and US Congress that they have a responsibility to legislate strong restrictions against gun ownership. Mass murders and mass shootings will not end until shooters do not have access to guns.
Write on, Lucian! Would a buy back program work here?
Serious proposals to tax/ discourage gun ownership would be nice. A requirement for liability insurance might help. Or we could just accept these deaths as we accept Highway deaths. Each is tragic, but simply the price we pay for individual ownership of cars. Or--Go ahead and ask Congress to intervene. Let me know how it turns out.
I would like to read an LT article on the poisoning of Americans by food manufacturers - the use of HFCS in soda, etc. the culpability of Walmart and Coca Cola - name names - toxic food destroys waaaay more American lives than guns.
What struck me especially was "less than 40 percent of gun owners have had any training in safety or shooting of firearms." The number of firearms per capita in this country is staggering, but that statistic is even more so.
This says it all: "You want to talk about American exceptionalism? We are exceptionally violent, exceptionally stupid, and exceptionally dead."
As Dr. Fauci said some the middle of March there has been 45 mass shootings on your coiy
the japan model is the one to follow; stringent and mean and total, but it's what we need. politics and power, tho, will forever be our obstacle.
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38365729