thetrace.org

Is there really anything I can add other than What is wrong with us?

In 2014 General Motors produced cars that had a defective ignition switch. That resulted in 124 deaths. It also resulted in the recall of 30 million cars worldwide, $900 million in fines plus civil settlements to those harmed by death or injury.

Every year about 150 people are killed or injured by negligent or accidental discharges of firearms*. That's when a gun 'goes off' without intent by the person holding that gun. Every year. As a result there have been no recalls of firearms, no fines and no settlements due to legal actions against firearms companies.

Every time some definable issue with an automobile, or any other consumer product, is discovered be it a defect or just current manufacturing practices immediate governmental recalls are made and the problem corrected. Not with guns. Guns are still manufactured to the same standards they were in the mid 1800s. Only a gun manufacturer can voluntarily initiate a recall of it's product. In addition, gun manufacturers, distributors, importers and sellers are protected by the Protection of Legal Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) that restricts civil recourse against any of these entities to very narrow and specific conditions.

Just about every one of these 150 deaths or injuries could be prevented with current proven technology. Referred to as Smart Gun technology it can prevent a firearm from being operated by any other than the one authorized to use it. It isn't expensive, adding perhaps $25 to the cost of the firearm and it is absolutely reliable in every conceivable situation. Yet the gun industry vehemently resists adoption and marketing of such technology to the point of death threats to any dealer who offers it to customers. In fact there is not even a requirement for a mechanical safety device on guns**.

What is wrong with us?

*I say 'about' because there aren't any compiled statistics by any agency, governmental or NGO. It's a secret because, well, guns. The numbers I postulate are gleaned from a pro-gun online magazine article based on two years of online searching news paper articles.

**Except for guns designed for a Military Request for Quote. The military, whose most basic job description is to 'tear things up and kill people' has more stringent safety requirements than the civilian market.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_ignition_switch_recalls#Aftermath

https://www.concealedcarry.com/safety/300-negligent-discharges-comprehensive-data-science-reveals-gun-grabbers-and-gun-owners-are-both-wrong/

There are more than 100,000 people affected by gunshot wounds every year.

What is wrong with us?

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article252470463.html? (sorry, paywall)

Guns make everything better.

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article252454238.html?

An armed society is a polite society. At least that's what I've been told by the gun industry. Guns make everything better.

More escalation. Kids going back to school . . . with guns.

Guns make everything better! Domestic violence, road rage, job disputes and schools.

It's only 2 minutes, watch the whole thing . . .

This is a chart of gun deaths from 1968 to 2017:


Note the sharp spike in murders that begins in 2014. That trend continues today with the CDC reporting a murder rate of 5.8/100k in 2019 and increases over that in 2020* and 2021* (numbers not finalized as of this post).

What happened in 2014? No pandemic, no major influx of drugs or gangs, economy booming and inflation down while employment up. What changed?

Below is a graph of guns manufactured from 1986 through 2018:


Here is a chart of imports of guns from 1986 to 2018:


Notice the spike in manufacturing and imports that began after 2010 and spiked in 2014? The supply of guns is directly correlated to the increase in gun violence. There is no way to ignore this.

https://digital.olivesoftware.com/olive/ODN/HoustonChronicle/Default.aspx (pay wall)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/06/14/2021-gun-violence/ (no pay wall)

There is much more worth reading in the article but the bottom line is that IT REALLY IS THE GUNS.

MORE GUNS = MORE SHOOTINGS. There's no way to deny it.

At the same time other crimes, violent and non violent, are down and remain at near all time lows. It's only gun violence that is up.

I have told gunners for years that they are the ones best suited to write gun laws. Of course it fell on hostile ears. We will have sensible gun laws, laws the will reduce the number and kind of guns in circulation to a small fraction of what we have today. Perhaps not in my lifetime, but it will come and the gunners aren't going to be happy.

That's what happens when those who love a thing let others regulate it for them.

A History of the NRA
https://hickoryrecord.com/news/history-of-the-nra/collection_772d86f7-a01a-586a-abc8-930bcaa6d4f3.html#1

A short easy read and well worth the few minutes to better know who we are dealing with.