Gun Laws: All We Want is Reasoned and Good Sense Regulation

Guns!  Absolute evil?  Or one’s best friend?  We seem to love them or hate them. 

There is no middle ground, and therefore no common sense.

Past studies have shown that appropriate gun laws can reduce gun-related deaths.  (See link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/07/gun-violence-study-chicago/1969227/).  Yet we can have none of that.  We are either pro-gun or anti-gun and there can be nothing in between.

Why?  How did we get here?  Appropriate, enforceable and accountable gun-laws make good sense.  Further study and research on the consequences and effects of gun ownership (e.g. accidental gun-deaths of children) would also help—but the NRA would have none of that either.

According to the one study (see link above), “States with the most laws had a mortality rate of 42% lower than those states with the fewest laws, they found.  The strong law states’ firearm-related homicide rate was also 40% lower and their firearm-related suicide rate was 37% lower.”  That’s significant.

Yet, we are no longer even studying the issue: “The larger problem is that the United States effectively stopped doing research on gun laws and violence 15 years ago and now has no evidence that shows causes and effect.”

The NRA fights research.  They want no research done.  They want no oversight and accountability.  They want no public awareness of actual facts, statistics, case studies, and/or cause-and-effect studies.

The average American citizen doesn’t want radical and extreme gun law measures.  Most Americans are reasonable and sensible people and want to respect and support our “right to bear arms.”  But, being reasonable people, we also want sensible and enforceable gun laws that protect our communities from senseless gun-deaths, accidental or otherwise.

Yet, the NRA continues to campaign against all and any perceived encroachment upon gun rights—they seem to be against gun laws of any kind.  They are even against having good solid scientific research done on gun ownership, the effects of gun laws or the lack thereof, etc.  They don’t want us to know!  Knowledge is power; so, better keep the public ignorant and in the dark.

When are the more moderate voices going to stand up and be noticed?  When will we, as a majority voice—reasonable, sensible people with good sense—finally say, enough is enough?  Let's do some smart regulation of guns so as to reduce gun-deaths.

If anyone has gone too far, become too radical and extreme, it’s the NRA!