Guns: When is Enough Killing, Enough?

“The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,” – Trump to NRA convention in Texas, 5-28-22 

Over the last few decades, GOP politicians like Donald Trump and Gov. Brian Kemp have pushed for less gun control. Kemp has pushed the issue here, running campaign ads with him holding a shotgun and saying- “I own guns, and no one is taking them away.”

They have succeeded and our gun laws have weakened both here and in the USA. If Trump’s assumption is true, then more Americans owning more guns should lead to less evil, i.e., less shootings.  But that is not the case. 

For example, take the recent shooting of a man and his dog in Simpson Park in Hall County (https://fox8.com/news/man-shot-and-killed-after-dog-fight-in-georgia-park/). Two men were walking their dogs and the dogs got into a fight. Then, one of the men took out a handgun and murdered the other man and his dog. Would this have happened if we did not permit open carry, ignoring reasonable gun control in Georgia?

Over three fourths (79%) of murders were committed by a firearm. And per capita gun deaths are up and “active shooter” incidents have skyrocketed as our firearms ownership has skyrocketed (https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/ .  Further, over the last few decades, shooting deaths of children are way up (https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/6-charts-show-rise-guns-us-people-dying-rcna30537 ).

Killing kids is the definition of pure evil. The fact is that the more guns Americans have, the more evil there is in our nation, as measured by gun deaths.  

Meanwhile, the number of American guns has gone from 90 million to 400 million. In 1998, less than a million guns were sold in the USA. Gun sales are now up to 40 million annually due to weak gun laws (https://americangunfacts.com/gun-ownership-statistics/ ). We now have 466 million guns, with handguns being the most frequently purchased.

As a result, shooting deaths per capita in the US are much higher than other nations (https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-us-gun-violence-world-comparison/ ). For example, the US gun death rate is 4 deaths per 100,000 while Germany and Denmark (where there was a recent mass shooting, used by gun fanatics as an excuse to say gun control does not work) are 0.1. In other words, our rate is 40 times higher.  

Does that mean our citizens are 40 times innately more evil than democracies like Germany? Or more 40 times innately more mentally ill than the Danes? Call me crazy, but I don’t think so. The problem is that there are more guns in the US than there are citizens. And many people should never have been able to buy them to start with, but did so due to lack of reasonable gun control laws. 

So, what can we do to lower gun deaths that is within the Constitution, which does not prohibit regulation of firearms? Here are a few suggestions to start, for both Georgia and our nation-

-We must ban military assault weapons like AR 15s, the guns repeatedly used to mow down peaceful people. There is no way to get out of the way or to defend yourself when a rifle is firing virtually non-stop. I have shot this weapon numerous times in target practice. There is no skill involved — it is simply a death tool.

-The US should outlaw extended, high-capacity magazines. 

-Teenagers should not be able to buy rifles when they can’t buy a beer; raise the age to purchase all weapons. 

-Expand background checks to cover everyone and take enough time to do them right. 

-Stop unregulated gun show sales (to felons and the mentally ill, among others). 

-Halt all private sales except to direct family members. 

-Prohibit selling arms through the mail and shipping them from one state to another. 

-Restrict open carry. In Georgia, a citizen cannot bring a gun into the General Assembly. So, why can that person bring a gun into a church?

-Congress must raise taxes on gun and ammunition manufacturers to offset the indirect costs of guns (including deaths and disabilities).

There is only one way that Georgia and the USA will get reasonable gun control. We must be “single issue” voters, only voting for state and national politicians who endorse the above measures. If we do not, the death count will continue to rise… and it will be our own fault. 

Note: This is an opinion article as designated by the the category placement on this website. It is not news coverage. If this disclaimer is funny to you, it isn’t aimed at you — but some of your friends and neighbors honestly have trouble telling the difference.