Lawmakers testing public's patience on gun laws

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As disturbing in recent days as two mass shootings that occurred less than a week apart — claiming the lives of 18 people in two U.S. cities — is the realization that the toll of deaths from guns last year largely escaped our view while we were focused on a pandemic, a presidential campaign and the protests that followed the slayings of Black Americans by police.

It’s not that mass shootings — those involving the deaths of four or more people — were nonexistent last year. In all, 611 people died in mass shootings in 2020, according to the Gun Violence Archive, but that figure is dwarfed by the 19,378 who died in violent shootings — its highest mark since 2017 — and a figure that does not include the 24,156 who died in suicides by firearm.

Nor did the shift of public education from classrooms to screens during covid restrictions offer children a reprieve from the nightmare of school shootings; among the more than 19,000 dead were 299 children from birth to 11 years of age and 1,073 youths between 12 and 17.

Yet, we don’t seem to notice until death arrives in multiples of four or more.

https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-lawmakers-testing-publics-patience-on-gun-laws/

[SWBTATTReg]

1. We do recognize that these shooting events happen, but we keep hearing the same worthless

excuses by republicans, 'it's too soon do anything', or 'we need more guns' or 'some other stupid and worthless excuse only a republican can offer'. Like in MO, we tried to keep guns off the streets in the big cities (St. Louis I know in particular), the state republicans of course objected to measures that the cities were trying to put in place to stifle the amount of gun crimes in their cities. Of course, the majority of the state is rural (outside KCMO and STLMO and Spfd, MO), geographically but population wise, it's probably 80% urban population, 20% rural.

--snip--
What percentage of U.S. population lives in urban areas?

The urbanization of the United States occurred over a period of many years, with the nation only attaining urban-majority status between 1910 and 1920. Currently, over four-fifths of the U.S. population resides in urban areas, a percentage which is still increasing today.
--snip--

Some poetic justice here, most serious crimes in rural MO are committed w/ guns. I've lived in rural parts of MO where three of the serious crimes I'm personally aware of were committed w/ guns (guy's leg shot off in argument, grandma's friend got shot/killed, house burned to hide the evidence (they caught the thugs that did this), and scumbag neighbors (two of them) attacked a neighbor demanding that he pay them their brush hog bill, while his young child was there too, one of the two drunk neighbors got shot and killed and the other ran off hiding, caught later). In the city of STLMO, I'm personally only aware of two gun crimes (I know that there are more, but I'm talking personally my experiences).

I know that MO is a hunting state (which is fine, we have lots of deer, turkey, etc.), so lots of guns (including me). BUT, don't go running and grabbing your gun(s) first thing if you are drunk or have an argument over literally nothing.

--snip--
Firearm death rate has increased more quickly in Missouri than the rest of the nation

In 2017, Missouri saw 21.3 firearm deaths per 100,000 residents. The state is the sixth-highest in the nation for firearm deaths by these age-adjusted rates. Its rates have increased over the past decade.
--snip--