GUNS...GUNS...GUNS

from rulesunqualified / flickr

CHARLESTON

CHATTANOOGA

LAYFAYETTE

Who's next? Could be anywhere.  Could be your church, your college, your library. Could be your shopping mall or theatre or the bar down the street. The list is endless it seems.

The Brady campaign reminds us that...

* One in three people join the U.S. knows someone who has been shot.

* On average, 31 Americans are murdered with guns every day and 151 are treated for a gun assault in an emergency room.

* Every day on average, 55 people kill themselves with a firearm, and 46 people are shot or killed  in an accident with a gun.

*  The U.S. firearm homicide rate is 20 times higher than the combined rate of 22 countries that are our peers in wealth and population. 

*  A gun in the home is 22 times more likely to be used to kill or injure in a domestic homicide, suicide or unintentional shooting than to be used in self-defense.

This same group also reminds us...

*  Nine out of 10 Americans agree that we should have universal background checks, including three out of four NRA members.

*  Since the Brady Law was initially passed, about 2 million attempts to purchase firearms have been blocked due to background checks. About half of these blocked attempts were by felons.

*  Our current background check system only applies to about 60% of gun sales, leaving 40% (online sales, purchases at gun shows, etc) without a background check.

We are told that there are 283 million guns in civilian hands in our country.

We know we're not going to take everyone's guns away. That is madness. We also know there are certain segments of the country where people live in isolated places that really do need protection. We also know that responsible hunters are going to keep their guns.

But we are living in such a fearful time. Suspicious of the government. Suspicious of  the President. Some suspicious of the Police. Some suspicious of everyone. Politicians fan the flames every single day of fear and hate. We hear all this talk about "taking our country back." Once upon a time we were not this afraid or suspicious or angry or just fed up. This is what we really need to take back.

The sad list of cities and names will continue until we as a people get angry enough to do something positive about this great land we live in.

One of the best articles I have read lately on this subject was published in a publication called Like The Dew. You might want to read the article entitled, "Why-doesn't-this-country-do-something-to-curb-gun violence?" Good question.

photo by jonathan lawes / flickr

--Roger Lovette / rogerlovette.blogspot.com