Dear Gun Carriers

[Dog Gone at Penigma]

49. Because we don't track that data, and because the NRA has effectively blocked attempts to do so

However we do know that the more guns, the greater the number of incidents of gun violence.

Unlike any other civilized or developed country, we have more killings and injuring of children, more suicides by firearm - which tend more than other kinds to be impulsive rather than a considered decision. We also have an unconscionable number of murder suicides with firearms.

I'd love to see better data, and more regulation including registration, for the purpose of keeping guns legal. Because we don't require background checks on most firearms transactions, although a few states like CO require them for private sales at gun shows, we have absolutely no accountability for when firearms go from being legally owned, as they all start out, to being illegally owned.

THAT is a serious problem. If you legally buy a firearm, you should be responsible for what happens to it, including serious theft prevention, and guaranteeing that EVERY transaction which transfers that firearm to someone else guarantees that person is not a prohibited person.

Doing so would put a huge dent in illegal weapons.