#395 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday July 5)
Good morning,
Another senseless shooting with a high-powered rifle. It just keeps on happening, while meaningful regulation is seemingly unattainable. We regulate what features are required and prohibited for cars on the road. We regulate who can drive a car and require that they demonstrate proficiency in its operation and understanding of vehicular safety. Then we require periodic re-licensing. But, through a broad reading of the Second Amendment and the strength of the gun lobby, we can’t seem to regulate the types of guns available to the public and who owns them, or require owners to demonstrate their familiarity with the safety in their storage and use. I’ve written so much on guns in America. I don’t have much to add. And this wasn’t the only mass shooting in Chicago this weekend.
It’s Tuesday and, therefore, a day for a potpourri of the thoughts of friends. Sadly and ironically, a number of these observations are about our gun problem…
TRYING WHAT THE EUROPEANS HAVE DONE
Mark Ferrell weighs in on what America might do in emulating others (who at some point emulated us)…
“As I was reading about your proposal for our legislators to take baby steps, one thought kept occurring to me: We don't have to re-invent the wheel. There are already several countries that are doing education, healthcare, freedom, capitalism, justice, and happiness better than the U.S.A. — strange as that sounds to this patriotic Republican boomer. Our circumstances aren't too terribly unique. It appears that it's our leadership that gets in the way, acting like spoiled children throwing tantrums in many respects. It's embarrassing…our leaders don't know how to behave as grown-ups who put country before party and ahead of self-interest. They've been elected to do the peoples' work, but don't…
Of course, it's more complex than that, but we've tied ourselves up into this knot over the course of many years. However, we need only to look as far as many of the Scandinavian countries to find solutions to our education, healthcare, capitalism, justice, freedom, and happiness woes. Somehow they've managed to beat us in those areas. Education is provided through the Master’s degree level. Healthcare is universal. Business is thriving because the workers and employers agree on the benefits of highly educated, well-paid workforce. Crime is low as a result and the prison system is far better than that of the U.S. They actually rehabilitate rather than punish. Ratings for freedom and happiness are in the top ten in the world.
They pay for it in the front end rather than the back end like we do. They pay for healthcare, education, employment, and social services. We pay for courts, lawyers, punishment, and enforcement instead. Either way, we pay. And none of this speaks to gun violence.”
GOING FOR A FEW BIG IDEAS AND NOT TRYING TO DO EVERYTHING
I wrote a while back that “Build Back Better” should be downsized to “Build Back a Little Better.” Basically, pick a few things that you can achieve and avoid a bloated bill that can’t pass and contains a lot of pork. Here’s what David Lash had to say about that:
“Build Back “A Little “ Better is perfect. I would start with the child tax credit that sent monthly checks to families and had a big impact on childhood poverty during the height of the pandemic. I would NOT use as a model the bipartisan compromise on gun safety, which accomplishes very little and I fear will allow too many legislators to wash their hands of the issue and say ‘we dealt with that, we accomplished gun safety, now we can ignore the issue.’”
GUNS, REDUX
Ron Stern weighs in on gun safety:
“I have read that we need to approach the gun problem the way we approach tobacco—as a safety and health problem. We can the ask questions around how to protect the lives of Americans. Truth is that though mass shootings get the press, the majority of deaths are suicide and one to one violence.
[We should ask] questions like:
What research needs to be done to understand how guns kill people?
Where are areas that gun safety programs already in effect are and are not working, why?
What kind of education can we provide and to whom to minimize misuse of guns, etc.?
What messaging would make guns less popular? (Right now the pro-gun people have everyone convinced that guns protect the owner. If we could show that they are more likely to be used to kill someone in the owner’s family, that would change everything.
We have to de-link guns from the image of freedom that so many hold on to. What’s messaging could do that?
It’s a propaganda war, not a rational war about the mechanics of guns or the current state of gun laws.”
And Steve Fishman adds on gun safety: “We must ban all assault rifles!! Ridiculous that these military style weapons can be in the public’s hands. You don’t need them for hunting, and what other possible reason can there be other than to kill as many humans as possible in the shortest period of time.“
He continues, “Further, we need more than background checks. We need to trace and limit ammunition sales, and we must have mental health evaluations on all people buying a gun and a sign off from three people that know the individual for more than three years in addition to a background check. Like Drivers licenses there must be follow up and re-certification and training required.”
“Astounding that the government whose charge is to protect us is failing so miserably and without any sense of responsible and moral efforts by our elected representatives.”
Have a great day,
Glenn
From the archives: