We, the American People, have a lot to say about the epidemic of gun violence in this country. Here, a round-up of the best from the Good Men Project, and the world wide web.
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“In America, if you own a car, you must buy insurance. Why? Because cars can kill people. Why not the same with an gun? This would create a pool to pay for the damage done when these weapons are used to commit violent crimes. And the by product of insuring assault weapons and other combat style weapons? The newly created gun insurance industry can then do what the insurance industry does best, namely, background checks.
This should be agreeable to the more conservative factions on our country as it takes background checks out the hands of the Federal and State Governments and puts it in the hands of private industry. A private industry who’s profits depend on doing these checks well. And insuring more powerful weapons would be an appealing new market for insurance companies because of the relatively low likelihood of any given weapon being used in a crime, much less a mass killing.
The insurance industry, working in partnership with state and federal governments would manage the insurance pool, and provide background checks on their policy holders to insure they do not have a criminal record or a history of mental illness. Gun owners rates for insurance would go up or down depending on the presence of things like trigger locks and gun cabinets. The more secure you keep your weapons, the lower your rates.
When mass shootings occur, the insurance pool would provide funds to pay for the vast range of costs associated with this kind of crime, including funerals, medical care, psychotherapy and social services, compensation for lost wages, and the range of other costs that would normally fall on the helpless victims and their shattered communities. It is simply no longer acceptable for the arms manufacturers, gun dealers, and and combat style weapon enthusiasts to expect taxpayers to pick up the bill when crimes are committed with these weapons.”
— Mark Greene, “A Market-Driven Solution for Counteracting the Proliferation of Assault Weapons
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“No laws form a perfect barrier to crime. Speeding laws don’t prevent all speeding. Murder laws don’t prevent all murder. Rape laws don’t prevent all rape. But they do limit the number of offenses, and provide society with means to go after the perpetrators. Marco Rubio said, “We don’t have bomb control!” — but that’s idiotic. We do. Bombs are illegal. If they weren’t, a lot more people would be using them.”
— Michael Sutherland, comment on Facebook
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The chart below shows gun regulations and gun deaths, state by state:
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Wayne LaPierre, CEO and Executive Vice President
National Rifle Association
410 First St SE #2
Washington, DC 20003
December 3, 2015
Dear Mr. LaPierre,
I am law-abiding gun owner, and have been a Life Member of the National Rifle Association (NRA). I grew up in a family of hunters. But more importantly, I’m a father and a husband. I believe that keeping our families safe is our most fundamental priority.
America has experienced more than 350 mass shootings just this year. On Wednesday, the latest mass shooting took the lives of 14 innocent people in San Bernardino, California. Our country is facing a tragic gun violence epidemic, and we cannot ignore it. Still, the NRA opposes any legislation that would help keep guns out of the hands of terrorists, criminals and the mentally ill, and spends millions to stop any action in Congress that could help prevent further violence.
I cannot continue to be a member while the NRA refuses to back closing these loopholes. Therefore, I resign my membership in the NRA, effective immediately. Please remove my name from your membership list.
Sincerely,
John Oceguera
Originally published on johnoceguera.com. Republished with permission.
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“What I see is this. In the majority of cases, the catalyst for the shooting was something that threatened the man’s identity as a man. The main statistic is inarguable—69 males to one lone female. Being a man is the single most common characteristic of every mass shooting in the last 32 years. I’d prefer to think that men are not inherently more violent—most men do not become violent in their lifetimes for any reason. And while biology, strength and testosterone can’t be completely discounted, I’d rather look at whether the pressures to conform to a certain type of masculinity are so strong that not being able to do so can cause a person to break under the pressure.
We say, when someone does the unthinkable, that “he just snapped.” In the case of premeditated murder, the moment when one snaps is not the moment one fires the shot but the moment one makes the decision to pick up a weapon and carry out the action.
What would cause someone to snap? In looking at the patterns of the mass killings, I’d like to suggest that the moment one snaps is when the societal pressure to conform to a certain identity as a man is too great. There is pressure to be someone you just cannot be. You cannot be a financial success, or a provider for your family (because you just got fired). You cannot be the popular kid (because you are teased and bullied). You cannot be the guy who got the attractive girl (because she didn’t return your affections). You cannot be the man society tells you over and over again that you must be. And it breaks you. You snap.”
— Lisa Hickey, “Patterns of Mass Shootings and a Conversation about Men”
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— Everytown for Gun Safety
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— Infographic: Bailey Brautigan
The real reason why young men with guns use them in #massshootings:
— Bill Maher, Friday, October 16, 2015
Source: 30dB.com – Gun Culture
The post Dirty, Sexy, Crazy Gun Culture appeared first on The Good Men Project.
