(This cartoon is by Jeff Koterba in the Omaha World-Herald.)There's a lot of truth in the cartoon above. We have people who want more guns in our society (even though we already have enough to nearly give one to every man, woman, and child), and we have some people who want to take guns away from everyone (in spite of the Second Amendment). I think, and most people would agree, that the solution lies somewhere in the middle.
But before we find that badly needed solution, we have to come to the realization that we do have a gun problem in this country. The NRA (which today is little more than a lobbying organization for gun manufacturers) would have us believe there is no gun problem. That is simply ludicrous. In 2015, we are averaging a mass shooting every single day, and well over 30,000 people are now killed by a gun every year in this country. That's a problem, whether you want to admit it or not, and it's a problem that doesn't exist in any other developed nation.
There is a meme going around social media now that says more people have been killed by guns in the United States since 1968 than were killed in all the wars fought by this country in its history. Sound ridiculous? Well, it's not. Pundit Fact did the research, and they found it's TRUE! Here are the numbers:
WARS
Revolutionary War...............4,435
War of 1812...............2,260
Mexican War...............13,283
Civil War...............750,000
Spanish-American War...............2,446
World War I...............116,516
World War II...............405,399
Korean War...............36,574
Vietnam War...............58,220
Persian Gulf War...............383
Afghanistan War...............2,363
Iraq War...............4,492
Others...............362
TOTAL...............1,396,733
GUN DEATHS IN U.S.
1968 - 1980...............377,000
1981 - 1998...............620,525
1999 - 2013...............464,033
TOTAL................1,461558
That's 64,825 more gun deaths in just the last 45 years than soldiers killed in all U.S. wars -- and it doesn't even count the number of gun deaths for 2014 and 2015 (which would add at least 50,000 to the total). How can anyone say this country doesn't have a gun problem?
There is simply no legitimate reason to have this many gun deaths in this country. Can't we at the very least make an attempt to keep those who shouldn't have a gun (terrorists, criminals, the dangerously mentally ill) from legally buying one? Can't we at least make sure that those buying a gun are honest and law-abiding citizens?
Over 80% of Americans (including NRA members) would like to see the loopholes in our background check law closed. They want every person trying to buy a gun to have a background check first. That is not unreasonable or unconstitutional -- and it is inexcusable that our weak-kneed politicians won't do that.
