And, since it is old, not new -- that is in fact why it is more urgent than ever. Under Team Tangerine (and insane runaway grabs by the gun lobby), we saw four years of mass shootings, and the graphic at lower left documented, in part, how often it was an AR-15 or AK-47 style assault weapon that took scorces of innocent lives. Once should be too often, but over 690 dead -- and injured? What is wrong with us, as a nation? The NRA is bankrupt. We must strike now, and treat gun violence like a communicable disease -- use what we've learned at the CDC, to address it. Do read this below Obama era 2016 piece, as well, now. Onward -- to a better tomorrow -- a safer, saner one. And stay out of the monstrous weather this week, one and all. . . . smile.
Original Dateline | 01.06.2016: Later this week, our 44th President will act on his own -- under his inherent Article II executive branch powers -- (since the Congress hasn't the courage to do so) to impose (by rule) sensible solution-sets -- on the issue of guns, and gun-violence, here in the United States.
I hope you will give him your support, in this courageous attempt to address, and remediate, what has become a disgraceful public health emergency in America. We are, by almost any measure, in terms of the relative risks of gun death, the most dangerous developed nation on Earth. This is no less a real public health emergency than the Ebola virus was in Africa, last year. And so, I concur that we need to spend significant additional time and additional resources addressing it, as a CDC-style public health crisis. Unfortunately, there are far too many guns already out there (both lawfully, and many more, not so) to effectively completely curtail them here in the United States, but we can certainly get much more creative -- about sensible regulation on ammunition.
That is where I'd lay my groundwork, for rulemaking -- I'd make it much more daunting to get one's hands on more than a small amount of ammo. Seriously, what sensible explanation can there be for a large stockpile of high-powered ammunition, in one's home? In addition, I'd make the ammo very expensive.
Not a panacea, by any means (as there will always be a small minority that will manufacture their own ammo), but a good first step. I hope you'll join me in supporting sensible limits on guns and ammo availability.
No right is absolute -- and we must now admit that the N.R.A. backed lunacy on gun rights has gone off-track. When that lobby opposed reforms after Sandy Hook, and again after San Bernadino, I think they lost the support, and good will, of most sensible people. Here's a bit from this morning's New York Times:. . . .The newfound momentum reflects a strategy to steer clear of a Republican-led Congress that has proved unwilling to touch existing federal gun laws after years of intense lobbying on both sides of the debate.
With tens of millions of dollars to spend thanks to backers like Michael R. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, gun control groups have secured a number of surprising recent successes in Connecticut, Delaware and elsewhere. And they are now looking to state and local officials to win approval for tougher background checks and other measures from Nevada to Maine. . . .
Pleas join Mr. Obama -- and declare that we -- as a single nation, united -- will tackle our gun- and gun-violence problems, as public health emergencies here in 2016. Thank you -- for listening.
[UPDATED 01.05.2016: More New York Times graphical background -- on gun ownership trends -- here.]
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