What is ending up in the headlines are mass murders and the occasional intimate partner gun death. If we reported on *every* successful deadly act of gun violence, including homicides, accidental deaths, suicides, and police brutality, and every successful non-lethal act of gun violence—attempted robberies, road rage incidents, i.e. use of a gun that didn’t end in death—and every attempted act of violence with a gun, we’d need to put a ticker at the bottom of the news feed like we do with the stock market to keep up, that’s how prevalent gun violence is in the U.S. We only ever hear about the big ones anymore because there just aren’t the resources to cover them.
I’m sick of having this argument. It’s the guns and we don’t have to live this way.
I grew up in a gun household. I knew where my dad’s guns were (“responsibly hidden” under a pile of sweaters at the top of his closet). I’ve shot guns for sport my entire life. I’ve taken safety classes. I have been around people who claim to be “responsible gun owners” who bring beer and whiskey to the shooting range (it is illegal in many states to be in possession of a weapon while intoxicated because the risk of accidental harm goes up exponentially).
I haven’t had a gun in my house in almost 20 years because I could not find a valid reason for it. There isn’t one.
Those that have eyes to see…I’m furious and exhausted with gun culture. (Could we call the US a death cult? A gun cult?!) I cannot fathom that we who oppose guns and/or gun violence are still considered to hold extreme position! It’s totally maddening. Thank you, Gabi, for laying out your argument both logically and emotionally. Maybe it will help break through the fog.
I definitely think there's a strange obsession with guns in our country. I think a big part of the problem with gun discussions is most often people only argue one side of the problem. Either they argue the crime/criminal gun violence side "take it away from the criminals first," " there were 30 shootings in Chicago last weekend!" "I'm a safe gun owner!" but ignore the issues with gun suicides and gun accidents. Or they argue the mass shooting side of things any time one comes up, with a side of suicides and "all guns are bad" and pointing fingers at legal (not necessarily responsible) gun ownership, but omitting gun violence within gangs, drive by shootings and gun violence that results in one or two deaths and doesn't fall under the "mass shooting" list. But reality is both are a huge issue. Here in my city of Austin there was a shooting downtown, the people involved were arrested but charges were dropped. If we can't even follow through on prosecuting actual gun crimes, I have little hope that we'll be able to go further. Either way I guess that part for the lawmakers to decide. As for citizens and this post, again, I completely see your opinion. And if people want to legally keep guns in or out of their homes, I guess that's up for the individual to weigh the risks and decide for themselves.
(1) When Connecticut tightened its gun laws after the Newtown school shooting, you know what dropped? The # of self-inflicted hand gun deaths.
(2) the family of the six year old who shot his teacher announced the other day that the handgun he used was fitted with a trigger lock and stored on the top shelf in Grandma’s closet. The six year old got at it anyway and shot his teacher.
Thank you for your perspective. Yes AND--So long as the police have guns, I fully support marginalized folks owning them and keeping them where they please.
From a philosophical stand - I agree with you completely.
Practically - I think this argument is more like the position of your book. Abstinence is the only perfect birth control. But you advocate for a practical way to manage MOST of the issues. And I really want someone (ANYONE) in power to do the same with guns.
Here's what I think (in no particular order of importance):
I agree. Every gun law should be a FEDERAL gun law. And before the far right crowd shakes their tiny fists about the 10th Amendment...don't make me laugh. Hypocrites.
Let's start with ending open and concealed carry. Why? Because brandishing a gun in a public place is an aggressive act. Period.
There needs to be a NATIONAL gun registry. If you haven't registered your gun, you have committed a felony. Let's act on that. And let's confiscate more guns from people who are charged with anything but a traffic violation.
Nobody needs any kind of weapon that has a magazine capacity over 5. Hell...even the nuts who think they are going to protect their houses shouldn't need more than 5 shots to get the bad guy. So let's get serious about that.
There are many ways to store guns. I'm liking your idea of a storage area outside the home - but that just shifts the responsibility to a stranger. But how about requiring trigger locks, fingerprint access, and yes - safes. And those safes shouldn't have combinations. Those should be equipped with retina scanners and facial recognition. Hell...even my PHONE has that! Sounds expensive, right?
Insurance is a must. If you have a gun, you have to insure it. Just like your car. And insurance is gonna be expensive. Because that's how insurance works. They are going to be paying out - so they really have to charge for that coverage. Good.
And here's the kicker. IF your gun is used in the commission of a crime or in the ending of a life - YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH THAT CRIME unless the gun has been reported stolen. That includes suicide btw. And please don't tell me that parents whose children harm themselves or others have "suffered enough". Their loss is unthinkable - but someone needs to be held accountable. You would certainly be charged if you killed your kid while driving drunk.
I'm sick and tired of this. And I think that most of us are. So how in the hell do we keep electing people who don't have the balls to fix this?
There are plenty of ways to start limiting the access to guns that don't violate your 2nd Amendment right to own a musket. And it's time we get started.
Totally with you on this! Most people I know wanna buy a gun because they think it’s cool! It ticks me off when they cook up reasons. I mean use your f***** common sense.
Gun owners that I know personally keep guns because they make them feel powerful and because it’s a way to “own the libs”. Requiring gun insurance would be the most effective way to start controlling gun ownership.
You go girl. I totally am on the same page with you. Our country is an embarrassment in the eyes of the world, when it comes to guns. Please don’t stop your postings. We need to have more women in government for this to end!!!
Oh my goodness, yes. This has always felt so obvious to me: a home is inherently less safe when there's a deadly weapon available inside it. And as someone who sometimes experiences suicidal depression, it has always been REALLY obvious to me that if I had a gun in my house, I would not be here today. I think about this all the time when the rhetoric after school shootings starts turning to arming teachers; I am a teacher, and I'm very good at my job, but I would not be able to stay in my job if I were required to have a gun in my classroom. It wouldn't be safe *for me*. (And it's also just making a gun available in a classroom to anyone who could take me down, and as a petite person, that's...probably not hard! The line of reasoning for arming teachers is so straight-up bonkers that I'm always shocked when the rhetoric goes there, every single time.)
What is ending up in the headlines are mass murders and the occasional intimate partner gun death. If we reported on *every* successful deadly act of gun violence, including homicides, accidental deaths, suicides, and police brutality, and every successful non-lethal act of gun violence—attempted robberies, road rage incidents, i.e. use of a gun that didn’t end in death—and every attempted act of violence with a gun, we’d need to put a ticker at the bottom of the news feed like we do with the stock market to keep up, that’s how prevalent gun violence is in the U.S. We only ever hear about the big ones anymore because there just aren’t the resources to cover them.
I’m sick of having this argument. It’s the guns and we don’t have to live this way.
I grew up in a gun household. I knew where my dad’s guns were (“responsibly hidden” under a pile of sweaters at the top of his closet). I’ve shot guns for sport my entire life. I’ve taken safety classes. I have been around people who claim to be “responsible gun owners” who bring beer and whiskey to the shooting range (it is illegal in many states to be in possession of a weapon while intoxicated because the risk of accidental harm goes up exponentially).
I haven’t had a gun in my house in almost 20 years because I could not find a valid reason for it. There isn’t one.
Those that have eyes to see…I’m furious and exhausted with gun culture. (Could we call the US a death cult? A gun cult?!) I cannot fathom that we who oppose guns and/or gun violence are still considered to hold extreme position! It’s totally maddening. Thank you, Gabi, for laying out your argument both logically and emotionally. Maybe it will help break through the fog.
Well said!
I definitely think there's a strange obsession with guns in our country. I think a big part of the problem with gun discussions is most often people only argue one side of the problem. Either they argue the crime/criminal gun violence side "take it away from the criminals first," " there were 30 shootings in Chicago last weekend!" "I'm a safe gun owner!" but ignore the issues with gun suicides and gun accidents. Or they argue the mass shooting side of things any time one comes up, with a side of suicides and "all guns are bad" and pointing fingers at legal (not necessarily responsible) gun ownership, but omitting gun violence within gangs, drive by shootings and gun violence that results in one or two deaths and doesn't fall under the "mass shooting" list. But reality is both are a huge issue. Here in my city of Austin there was a shooting downtown, the people involved were arrested but charges were dropped. If we can't even follow through on prosecuting actual gun crimes, I have little hope that we'll be able to go further. Either way I guess that part for the lawmakers to decide. As for citizens and this post, again, I completely see your opinion. And if people want to legally keep guns in or out of their homes, I guess that's up for the individual to weigh the risks and decide for themselves.
Bravo!
(1) When Connecticut tightened its gun laws after the Newtown school shooting, you know what dropped? The # of self-inflicted hand gun deaths.
(2) the family of the six year old who shot his teacher announced the other day that the handgun he used was fitted with a trigger lock and stored on the top shelf in Grandma’s closet. The six year old got at it anyway and shot his teacher.
Thank you for your perspective. Yes AND--So long as the police have guns, I fully support marginalized folks owning them and keeping them where they please.
From a philosophical stand - I agree with you completely.
Practically - I think this argument is more like the position of your book. Abstinence is the only perfect birth control. But you advocate for a practical way to manage MOST of the issues. And I really want someone (ANYONE) in power to do the same with guns.
Here's what I think (in no particular order of importance):
I agree. Every gun law should be a FEDERAL gun law. And before the far right crowd shakes their tiny fists about the 10th Amendment...don't make me laugh. Hypocrites.
Let's start with ending open and concealed carry. Why? Because brandishing a gun in a public place is an aggressive act. Period.
There needs to be a NATIONAL gun registry. If you haven't registered your gun, you have committed a felony. Let's act on that. And let's confiscate more guns from people who are charged with anything but a traffic violation.
Nobody needs any kind of weapon that has a magazine capacity over 5. Hell...even the nuts who think they are going to protect their houses shouldn't need more than 5 shots to get the bad guy. So let's get serious about that.
There are many ways to store guns. I'm liking your idea of a storage area outside the home - but that just shifts the responsibility to a stranger. But how about requiring trigger locks, fingerprint access, and yes - safes. And those safes shouldn't have combinations. Those should be equipped with retina scanners and facial recognition. Hell...even my PHONE has that! Sounds expensive, right?
Insurance is a must. If you have a gun, you have to insure it. Just like your car. And insurance is gonna be expensive. Because that's how insurance works. They are going to be paying out - so they really have to charge for that coverage. Good.
And here's the kicker. IF your gun is used in the commission of a crime or in the ending of a life - YOU WILL BE CHARGED WITH THAT CRIME unless the gun has been reported stolen. That includes suicide btw. And please don't tell me that parents whose children harm themselves or others have "suffered enough". Their loss is unthinkable - but someone needs to be held accountable. You would certainly be charged if you killed your kid while driving drunk.
I'm sick and tired of this. And I think that most of us are. So how in the hell do we keep electing people who don't have the balls to fix this?
There are plenty of ways to start limiting the access to guns that don't violate your 2nd Amendment right to own a musket. And it's time we get started.
Totally with you on this! Most people I know wanna buy a gun because they think it’s cool! It ticks me off when they cook up reasons. I mean use your f***** common sense.
If only it could be made illegal for the NRA to make contributions to politicians. It’s a vicious cycle of them, them, them over all of us.
I see another no-nonsence book!
Gun owners that I know personally keep guns because they make them feel powerful and because it’s a way to “own the libs”. Requiring gun insurance would be the most effective way to start controlling gun ownership.
Bravo! Well said.
You go girl. I totally am on the same page with you. Our country is an embarrassment in the eyes of the world, when it comes to guns. Please don’t stop your postings. We need to have more women in government for this to end!!!
Thank you thank you for this.
Oh my goodness, yes. This has always felt so obvious to me: a home is inherently less safe when there's a deadly weapon available inside it. And as someone who sometimes experiences suicidal depression, it has always been REALLY obvious to me that if I had a gun in my house, I would not be here today. I think about this all the time when the rhetoric after school shootings starts turning to arming teachers; I am a teacher, and I'm very good at my job, but I would not be able to stay in my job if I were required to have a gun in my classroom. It wouldn't be safe *for me*. (And it's also just making a gun available in a classroom to anyone who could take me down, and as a petite person, that's...probably not hard! The line of reasoning for arming teachers is so straight-up bonkers that I'm always shocked when the rhetoric goes there, every single time.)