WOW: Guns to surpass car accidents as leading cause of deaths among young people

[spin]

181. So if your think that gang violence which accounts for 12% of all homicides is insignificant ...

please explain the recent push for another assault weapons ban.

In 2012 there were according to FBI statistics 8855 homicides in our nation caused by firearms. Murders committed by rifles of ALL types accounted for 322 of those murders or 3.6%.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.-2012/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/expanded-homicide/expanded_homicide_data_table_8_murder_victims_by_weapon_2008-2012.xls

Yet many on your side of the gun control issue recently tried to push through another assault weapons ban which would, at the best, limit the manufacture and sale of certain new semiautomatic rifles. Your side considered the passage of this legislation to be extremely important as did the media.

But realistically the evil looking black rifles account for only part of the 3.6% of the murders caused by rifles in 2012.

Let's imagine an unrealistic scenario. Let's say that in 2011 by some miracle a law passed banning the civilian ownership of all rifles and shotguns and everybody in the nation turned in their long guns willingly. In 2012 that would have stopped a total of 625 murders involving long guns or 7% of all firearm murders (assuming the bad guys would have not found a handgun to use). That is still less then the 12% of all murders caused by drug gangs that you consider insignificant.

Now perhaps you will point out that if all firearms were banned and confiscated from civilians we would no longer have ANY murders caused by them. In our nation that would require a miracle like Moses parting the water. It is simply not going to happen anytime in the near future and probably not in 50 to 100 years.

Perhaps that is the major difference between our two viewpoints. Obviously we both abhor gun violence. You propose the unrealistic while I look for potential solutions to reduce the problem.

Unfortunately you and others on your side of the gun control issue are unwilling to listen to rational approaches that might make a difference just as those who support gun rights are unwilling to listen to the good points gun control advocates mention.

Consequently our nation loses opportunity to make headway on passing more effective gun control laws at the national level