I like guns. I’ve owned some. I’ve hunted before. I’m more attracted to than repelled by guns, they’re ingenious devices.
But handguns and assault weapons have been, and are still, a public health issue and shouldn’t be owned by the general public.
I know there’s a second amendment. But it’s out of date. Owning muzzle loaders isn’t a threat to the nation’s public health; but now owning handguns and assault weapons is.
The size of our population (there’re over 300 million of us) coupled with our stress inducing economic system generates enough deranged individuals to worry about. This situation ensures a random but steady supply of a deadly mixture of guns and untreated mental illness.
It hasn’t been that long since the deadly movie theater shootings in Denver, but there’s no more public interest in it. What happened? The issue of guns and public health doesn’t seem to be on the public’s radar.
I guess in country where a black woman becoming a member of a golf club is still big news, in 2012, we still may not be ready to talk about our gun problem. But we can do it.
We consider cigarettes and second-hand smoke as a public health issue; and we’re doing a pretty good job of getting away from smoking. It’ll probably be a similar situation with guns.