My apologies for a two day break in posting. I will also not be posting for four further nights from Saturday. Normal posting will hopefully be resumed thereafter. Please give yourself a short break from this blog, but I will be delighted to welcome you back, approximately next Wednesday.
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Today’s post
“This year, shootings have been on the rise in several cities across the country. 370 children in the United States — 12 years old or younger — have been harmed or killed by gunfire so far this year, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which collects gun violence data daily.
Accidents like kids playing with guns, and domestic disputes, often cause the injury and deaths of young children. In Chicago this summer, at least 15 children in the city, age 12 and under, have been wounded unintentionally by bullets, says Andrew Holmes, a community activist in Chicago”. (NPR website, 2 August 2016)
Meanwhile, in Texas, college students are now allowed to carry loaded guns on campus. This is “justified” on the specious pretext that it will prevent mass shootings. To rational supporters of Epicurus this is just a ruthless means of increasing gun and ammunition sales and recklessly abandons any respect for the sanctity of life, not to mention common sense. I live much of my life in the United States and simply cannot understand the thought processes of some of my fellow citizens. They baffle me. Equally sad is the fact that my disbelief and revulsion baffles the gun advocates.
Good news
In the last few years 39 American states have enacted measures to strengthen gun violence prevention. Most popular of the local laws involve universal background checks, adopted by 18 states. If people are asked about gun control they are against it. But ask about specific assault rifle or background checks and people are generally for them.
So some states are getting the message, but the NRA has a lockhold on the Federal government. The problem with this is that a patchwork of measures cannnot be fully effective because guns can can be moved from states with lax rules into those with effective ones. But 90% of the American population says they want universal background checks, so there is a good chance that this will happen in the next few years – just don’t let a Democrat in the White House propose it, that’s all.