The Epidemic Of Gun Violence Won't Be Fixed By Republicans

The United States has more gun murders than any other developed nation.

The United States has more gun suicides than any other developed nation.

The United States has more mass shootings than any other developed nation.

The United States has more mass murders by gun than any other developed nation.

The United States has more injuries from gun violence than any other developed nation.

Those things are not true by a small margin, but by a very large margin. For instance, the United States has about 37 gun murders per 100,000 people, while Italy (which finishes second) has only 0.68 gun murders per 100,000 people.

Republican officials, who refuse to pass stricter gun laws, have offered several excuses. Some say it is because of violent video games. But all of the other developed nations have the same violent video games and it has not caused gun violence to rise in their countries.

Some GOP officials claim it is because religion, especially christianity, is becoming less popular in the country. That doesn't make sense either. The other developed nations are nearly all less christian (and less religious in general) than the United States.

Perhaps the biggest excuse Republicans cling to is to claim the gun violence is due to mental illness. But the percentage of the population with mental illness is not any larger in the United States than in any of the other developed nations.

The excuses simply do not work. We all know why gun violence is so prevalent in the United States, whether Republicans want to admit it or not.

IT IS THE GUNS!!!

The United States has enough guns floating around to arm every single man, woman, and child in the country -- and have a few million guns left over.

And too many states allow anyone to easily get any kind of gun (and as much ammunition) as they want. And many of them allow people to openly carry those guns anywhere they want.

I am not talking about restricting gun ownership by decent and law-abiding citizens (as the Republicans like to claim). We can have sensible gun laws and still protect the right of law-abiding citizens to own a gun. 

Plugging the holes in our background check law would not prevent law-abiding citizens from purchasing to owning a firearm. But failing to do that just makes it easy for dangerous people (criminals, terrorists, the dangerously mentally ill, domestic abusers) to buy and carry the firearm of their choice.

Banning the sales of assault-style rifles would not prevent law-abiding citizens from owning firearms to protect themselves or engage in hunting. Those weapons are only good for killing large amounts of people in a very short period of time. We do not allow citizens to own other weapons of war (like machine guns, rocket launchers, etc.). We should not allow assault-style rifles either, especially since they have become the weapon of choice in mass shootings.

Republicans are not going to pass any sensible gun laws. They only engage in excuses, thoughts, and prayers -- none of which will save any American lives.

Most Americans say they want some stricter (and constitutional) gun laws. But they must carry that conviction to the ballot box. Re-electing gun-loving Republicans will not get anything done. It will just make sure the epidemic of gun violence continues.

We need two parties willing to debate and compromise to solve the country's problems. Sadly, today's Republican Party is not willing to compromise. Until they are, they must be voted out of power.

The lives of many thousands of innocent Americans depends on it.