Tag Archive for gun

An Approach to Voting

October 9, 2020 Comments Off on An Approach to Voting

I’m not going to tell you WHO or WHAT to vote for, but I am giving you some advice to ensure that your vote will truly make a difference.

I’ve noticed the all-or-nothing attitude of people around me and people in general. That is, vote totally one party or another because they’re conservative/liberal/not socialist/progressive/whatever. Or vote for one candidate because they’re anti-abortion or pro gun control or some other single issue.

One problem is that no party is fully conservative/liberal/whatever. In the olden days they were more unified in a political direction. Today, though, both major parties have several wings.

Which brings me to the other problem. Voting straight party ticket does not guarantee that your main view will be pushed. Sometimes, for example, a representative will be against your view on civil rights and someone from the other party would have been more in line with your view. Or the candidate who is stanchly for that one view may go against your other important issues.

The best way to vote, then, is to figure out what you think would make this overall a safer, happier, more just country, then evaluate each candidate’s previous actions and stated goals, and vote accordingly, no matter what party they belong to. And examine your own moral stance not just over one issue but all that affect the common good.

In short, vote to strengthen the basic American values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Uncategorized , , , , , , , , ,

Some Good in the Midst of Anguish

May 4, 2020 Comments Off on Some Good in the Midst of Anguish

Although I’m deeply saddened by the daily news of even more people’s lives being taken by the coronavirus, I’m heartened by what is suddenly NOT in the news–shootings, small and large. Until the last few months, shootings were a daily occurrence.

In my fantasy world, when we come out of this pandemic, that particular lack of news will continue. In my perfect civilian world, guns will be used for sport only–target shooting and humane hunting. I’d like to think this virus has killed off another virus, that of hatred and bigotry that leads us to taking up guns to kill each other. I’d like to think that this experience we’re sharing reminds us that, despite our differences, we are all part of and responsible for the human family.

Uncategorized , , , , , ,

For Our Kids–Arm Everyone

September 23, 2019 Comments Off on For Our Kids–Arm Everyone

I’m all for having armed guards in every school.  In fact, they should be anywhere children gather.  That includes churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques; Scout meetings; children’s birthday parties (disguise the guard as a cowboy); family reunions (never know when there will be a drive-by shooting); the zoo and children’s discovery museum; even political events where politicians kiss babies.  And hire only babysitters who pack pistols. Nothing is too extreme to safeguard our children.

These should be trained guards, required to take a two-hour gun safety course.  Some may be volunteers (I’m sure the NRA will recruit willing volunteers from their membership).  But many will be professional peace officers, fire-fighters, and school principals.

Expensive?  Not really.  The  Kids Are Our Concern (CROC) program can easily be paid for by money saved by revamping our penal system.  First, execute all the roughly 725  people currently on Death Row–they’re taking up space and using too much court time and money on appeals.  Maybe a few will be executed for a crime they didn’t commit, but if they’re on Death Row they must have done something else terrible enough to be taken out of society permanently.  Then, within two weeks of having been sentenced to death, execute newly convicted felons.  Next, sentence to death anyone using a gun that causes, intentionally or unintentionally,  any kind of bodily harm (except to animals, of course).  Think of all the money we’d save on housing and feeding these monsters AND we’d free up space in our prisons–maybe close down a few, thus saving even more money.

And all that savings would be earmarked for the CROC program.

I urge you to write your members of Congress (once they climb up from the bottom of the cliff) and urge that they adopt the CROC program at once!

[To my shocked readers: Remember that irony is one of the tools I use to make my point.]

Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Guns: Where we stand in the World

December 14, 2018 Comments Off on Guns: Where we stand in the World

The CDC has compiled all its 2017 statistics and revealed a startling fact: almost 40,000 people died last year from guns in the U.S. That’s the highest number in 40 years. (1999 saw 30,000 such deaths.)  It’s also the third year in a row of increase, after years of stable numbers.

Worldwide, our country makes  up 14.2% of gun deaths, surpassed only by Brazil, with 17.2% of the world’s gun-related deaths. Note that we aren’t talking war here–except individually against other individuals and ourselves. A good number of U.S. gun deaths (60%) are suicides, and we see daily news reports about someone shooting people in schools, venues, and places of worship.

You can read more specifics in the Huffington Post article U.S. Gun Violence Claimed More Lives In 2017 Than Ever: CDC.

I don’t care if you’re pro-gun, anti-gun, or something in between. It’s obvious that gun violence is an epidemic in America, one that needs a cure. Studies have shown that it isn’t because we have more people with mental health problems here–countries with similar numbers of those people don’t have the gun violence we have.

So what is the cause? We don’t know but must get serious about finding out. And what is the cure? Again, we don’t know but MUST get serious about finding out.

Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

Privacy and the Smoking Gun

March 23, 2018 Comments Off on Privacy and the Smoking Gun

I was so anxious to give you the information about Facebook yesterday, that I  forgot to post a “Thursday Thought” quote.  So I’ll do it today.  I think this one is appropriate:

“Privacy is dead, and social media hold the smoking gun.” — Pete Cashmore, Mashable CEO

Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Big Killer on the Highway

August 9, 2017 Comments Off on Big Killer on the Highway

It’s an epidemic throughout the country.  There has been an increase in deadly incidents from 70 in 2006 to 422 in 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  The disease is known as “Road Rage.”

Look at one state–Texas.  Highway road-rage crashes leading  to death have risen 502.9% (yes–the number 502.9 % is correct) in the last ten years.

Add in another factor–guns.  According to the Gun Violence Archive, incidents on U.S. highways involving guns have increased from 248 in 2014 to 627 in 2016.  View more figures on the Archive’s site.epidemic

Oddly enough, this is a disease with a cure.  But the cure depends on each of us individually.  Before getting behind the wheel we must inoculate ourselves–with patience, forgiveness, and the knowledge that our families want us to come home to them alive.

 

Uncategorized , , , , ,

20 Children a Day Sent to Hospital

May 30, 2017 Comments Off on 20 Children a Day Sent to Hospital

What is the cause of 20 kids a day being sent to the hospital?  Injuries related to guns, according to a new study.  People try to use safety locks and put the guns out  of reach of children, but kids are smarter and more aware than we give them credit for and know exactly where the guns are kept.

Until the middle of 2016 gun ownership was declining–from 51% in Jan. 1978 to 36% in June 216.  Today it’s up to 44%, I’d guess because of all the turmoil, violence, and uncertainty we’re currently facing.

No, it’s not the guns themselves that injure our kids because, after all, they’re inanimate objects. But more of them around increases the likelihood of more hurt children because there are more opportunities for them to gain access to these forbidden “toys.”  And more situations in which they’re innocent victims of drive-by shootings, as well as shootings related to vengeance, race, and domestic disputes.

I don’t know what the answer is.  There are pros and cons to stricter gun regulations.  Parents love their kids but are sometimes unthinking people, therefore not always totally careful locking and hiding firearms. Eliminating crime, domestic violence, gangs, and terrorism isn’t something we’ll be able to do soon.  As  I say, I don’t know what the answer is.  But I do  know that more has to  be done bring that twenty a day down to zero.

 

Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , ,

High Cost of Gunshot Treatment

March 29, 2017 Comments Off on High Cost of Gunshot Treatment

Startling fact:  It took almost $7 billion–and possibly more–to treat gunshot victims over nine years (read Gunshot Wounds Cost U.S. Hospitals Nearly $7 Billion Over 9 Years).

See also the Stanford study “Gun injuries cost Americans $730 million a year in hospital bills.”  A related startling fact.

Translate the money into number of lives affected and that’s not just startling, it’s a national crisis.

And it begs the question, How  much value do we put on human life?

 

Uncategorized , , , ,

When Cops Should NOT have Guns

April 28, 2016 Comments Off on When Cops Should NOT have Guns

A retired NYPD police officer should be so familiar with his gun that he should know better.  But he was so interested in showing it to his doctor during an exam that he wasn’t careful.  Maybe that’s the reason he brought it to his appointment in the first place, because he obviously didn’t fear his physician.

Anyway, once in the exam room he pulled his licenced 10 mm semi-automatic out of its holster, only to have it go off, hitting himself in the thigh and his doctor in the foot.

I have no idea what side of the gun-regulation issue this story falls on.  I just found the situation curious.

Related image

Uncategorized , , , , , ,

Controlling Guns, Respecting Rights

November 3, 2015 Comments Off on Controlling Guns, Respecting Rights

I’m tired of the gun-control debate!  This morning’s streaming news (scrolling across the bottom of the TV screen during the news broadcast) had nine headlines not related to sports, weather, or medical.  SEVEN of those were about people being shot. 1) A man was shot in Salinas.  2) People were shot on Interstate 80 in San Pablo.  3) A 73-year-old man shot his wife.  4) Two masked men used their guns in a robbery in Pacifica.  5)  A boy on a bike was shot in Salinas.  6)  A man was shot while sitting in his car with his nine-year-old child in East Oakland.  7) Four masked men shot off a gun during a home invasion/robbery in San Mateo.

These incidents all happened within a day in a fairly small area, an area not known for any more violence than any other.

I’m not arguing here for gun control that would take away anyone’s rights…well, the rights of any gun-trained/respecting, sane, level-headed, law-abiding, cool-tempered, life-respecting individuals.  If anyone can come up with a workable plan to protect their rights and the rights of gun-victims without gun owners giving up a small amount of what they feel the Fourth Amendment entitles them to, for the greater good, I’d love to see it enacted right away.

Yes, I’m tired of the gun-control debate.  It’s gone on far too long.  It’s past time for action instead of talk.

 

 

Uncategorized , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries