Why NOT Humane and Sane Gun Sale Controls?

I've already written a blog or two on this theme, not because I'm in favor of delegalizing private gun ownership, but because I see the reasons and benefits of owning a gun far outweighed by the devastation and havoc their shootings produce in America, as witnessed by our bloody and senseless history of innocents - children, teens and adults - being murdered by the minute. And not killed in self defense, property or national defense; which have been the biggest arguments for non-controls used by the NRA, manufacturers/gun industry lobbies and individuals.

In 2009, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 67% of all homicides in the U.S. were conducted using a firearm. Two-thirds of all gun-related deaths in the U.S. are suicides. In 2010, there were 19,392 firearm-related suicides, and 11,078 firearm-related homicides in the U.S. (33,478 deaths - 83 less than by auto in 2012) In 2010, 358 murders were reported involving a rifle while 6,009 were reported involving a handgun; another 1,939 were reported with an unspecified type of firearm. (Wikipedia) The abberational massacres that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School (20 children killed; 8 adults) or famously in the Aurora Colorado movie theater, or the Virginia Tech and Columbine School Massacres, are manifestly performed by debatedly mentally unstable teens or persons who also had access to AK-47 assault rifles, Uzi machine guns, shotguns, rifles and pistols. (Why do we even sell assault rifles and Uzi's? To shoot deer and grouse?)

These human deaths are cruel and senseless universally acknowledged as not being nearly as destructive without the added benefits of high-capacity magazines and armor-piercing bullets.

The Congressional Research Service in 2009 estimated there were 310 million firearms in the U.S., not including weapons owned by the military. 114 million of these were handguns, 110 million were rifles, and 86 million were shotguns. In that same year, the Census bureau stated the population of people in the U.S. at 306 million. So it logical to say, "Hey, look how few gun deaths there are!
We don't have a problem."

Therefore I respond, "Then why own a gun in the first place? There'd be even fewer deaths without them." And I'd ask, "Whose life are we trying to save here? The gun owners - the defender of his person and property? Or the innocents murdered by easy access to weapons?" Or, "Maybe we're better off with those suicides by the mentally ill - it stopped them from doing much worse with their gun." (I apologize for the analogy, but to some it seems any death by gun is not the gun's fault)

I can't help myself from asking, "How many times did having a private or business-owned gun deterred crime or thwarted robberies, rape or worse?" Here Wikipedia reports studies as follows: " . . . guns used in personal defense as low as 65,000 times per year, and as high as 2.5 million times per year." Well! Clearly personal weapons have been a deterrent! 

I mean, crime must be so much lower in Texas where I've heard (euphemistically) "everyone owns a gun." The Uniform Crime Report states that between 950,000 to 1 million crimes occur involving property, annually, and a steady 100,000 violent crimes were committed every year in Texas, between 1997 and 2011. Essentially the reports says there's a violent crime every 5 minutes, and a property crime every 35 seconds. A firearm committed 66% of 2011's gun deaths, or 719 of 1,089 murders in a population totaling over 25 MILLION in 2011. (U.S. Census) So, obviously and apparently, by these numbers anyway, Texas doe not have a gun problem! It's violent crime IS low compared to its general population.

Obviously Texans are doing something right therefore, say as opposed to New York City's 8.337 million kids, teens and adults in 2012.  (There's 182 American cities with pops over 100k, and Texas has 32 of them (18%), another factor in crime overall) According to a NY Post Metro article on Jan. 28, 2014, there were fewer than 1 gun-related death's in NYC for all of 2013 - less than 1 per day. A "33% spike in murders for fewer guns seized." And we know ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg essentially tried to outlaw guns by forming a bipartisan coalition, Mayors Against Guns (supposedly with over 1,000 members today), as well as instituting limits on gun sales and a registry. 

The point? Texas with its abundance of guns, populous cities, crime rate etc., had 719 gun murders (2011) for 25 million people, versus NYC's 8.337 mil, and a c. 350 gun murders (2013) equals <.00003 for Texas and > .00004 for NYC. Therefore, logically speaking, the proliferation of guns is to be accelerated in America, not decreased!     

Ahh, statistics and damn statistics. No wonder we're not passing sane gun laws. 

All I can say is: I'm glad my son and his family live in Manhattan and not in Texas.  Somehow I feel he's safer with fewer guns around than more.

I guess I'm just illogical.

Best, Rod
Copyright 2014 

Surviving Bipolar Disorder in the modern age . . . a journey of Hope for the afflicted.
My poetic memoir Episodes available at www.amazon.com/episodes-rodney-richards/dp/0615914705/   

 

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