The Solution to Gun Violence is in the Middle.

It’ll just keep happening…unless we take a few reasonable steps.

There was just a shooting, just a mile from me, at a crowded King Soopers. I can hear helicopters overhead, rushing to the scene.

Can we just fix this. Partisanship will be the death of this planet. We can’t even get commonsense gun control passed that 90% of Americans support.

Compare the US to every other country in the world.

We have more guns here than people. America has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada, and nearly 16 times as many as Germany.

There’s a mass shooting every day, on average. Gun culture is responsible: states with more guns have more gun deaths. Other countries with more guns have more shootings, too.

We’re the outlier: we have more shootings. Even within the US, states with tighter gun control laws have fewer gun-related deaths.

More guns, more suicides: the states with the most guns report the most suicides. Policies that limit access to guns have decreased suicides.

Care about Police? Okay: police are more likely to be killed in homicides in states with more guns.

Support for reasonable reform is widely popular. 

Solution? It ain’t extreme. We’re talking reasonable gun safety. Everyone can keep their guns, responsibly.

Conservatives–though not reasonable ones–are the reason this keeps happening. The United States of America is the exception worldwide on constant public shootings. See below.

90% of Americans agree on commonsense solutions, but the NRA funds those who block it. Most GOP support commonsense reform. It’ll just keep happening.

We don’t actually care, just like with plastic or climate change or our own hearts and minds, unless we make a change.

Media, social media:

“Every time there’s a mass murder, this Charlie Brooker video needs to be reposted.”

~

It’s time for a change. If we don’t change, it’ll keep happening—and their blood will be on our hands.

Reasonable gun regulation is more than a political issue.

It is more than a partisan issue. It is more than a mental health issue, or my Republican friends would be funding mental health, not stripping it of support.

This is not a responsible gun owners’ issue—they’re great. This is a loophole issue. This is an issue of looking at those countries (Australia, the rest of our world) that do not have problems and learning from them. This is a public safety issue. This is about our children—all our children, conservative and liberal, every race, every background.

We can shout about this online, or we can work to solve this together.

Being aggressive toward the other side is not helpful—let us all be examples of peace and remembering that we’re truly in this together. America is about democracy–agreeing, agreeably, to disagree instead of engaging on hate on our fellow citizens.

From Reddit: Honest question here, looking for a real discussion. What are the proposed control measures? I’m pro 2nd amendment, and I have a decent number of guns. That said, I’m not against reasonable control measures. I’d like to see universal background checks and properly documented and accessible mental health records. YNot1989: Most tend to request some version of this: 1.) Comprehensive background checks. While implementation is not always brought up, it is generally held that it might be a good idea to at least fully fund the federal background check system, and place an obligation on states to report accurately their protective orders to the background check system. 2.) Mental Health Checks – This one is actually a little more tricky than either side makes it out to be, but the general consensus is that people who are a danger to themselves and others should not be permitted to own a firearm. 3.) Bans on people under 21 from purchasing guns. Some requests include 1.) Reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban – The AWB essentially outlawed the sale of the AR-15 and all knockoffs, but it was so vaguely written that a lot of gun stores didn’t know what pieces of their inventory they were permitted to keep. 2.) Comprehensive licensing laws – Basically, you have to demonstrate basic competence to get a license that would let you buy guns and ammo. The line generally boils down to, “It shouldn’t be easier to buy a gun than to buy a car.” In practice this isn’t that different from how gun laws in Canada are structured, & while gun owners in the states may think Canada is one giant gun free zone, you can own AR-15s, SKSs, & even newer semi-autos like the Kriss if you get a license. And if you’re not an irresponsible jackass, have a history of violence or mental instability, you can get one without much trouble. Froggin-Bullfish: Perhaps a more advanced version of the concealed carry class requirement should allow the purchase of semi automatics? They seem to be the general target of this. Also, banning gun ownership until 21 while promoting it for the armed forces starting at 17 is morally suspect. ~ #reddit ?❤️??????Get: elephantjournal.com/best (free)

A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Mar 25, 2018 at 1:10pm PDT

From Reddit, here’s a few reasonable steps: 

Honest question here, looking for a real discussion. What are the proposed control measures?

I’m pro 2nd amendment, and I have a decent number of guns.

That said, I’m not against reasonable control measures. I’d like to see universal background checks and properly documented and accessible mental health records.

YNot1989:
Most tend to request some version of this:

1.) Comprehensive background checks. While implementation is not always brought up, it is generally held that it might be a good idea to at least fully fund the federal background check system, and place an obligation on states to report accurately their protective orders to the background check system.

2.) Mental Health Checks – This one is actually a little more tricky than either side makes it out to be, but the general consensus is that people who are a danger to themselves and others should not be permitted to own a firearm.

3.) Bans on people under 21 from purchasing guns.

Some requests include:

1.) Reinstating the Assault Weapons Ban – The AWB essentially outlawed the sale of the AR-15 and all knockoffs, but it was so vaguely written that a lot of gun stores didn’t know what pieces of their inventory they were permitted to keep.

2.) Comprehensive licensing laws – Basically, you have to demonstrate basic competence to get a license that would let you buy guns and ammo. The line generally boils down to, “It shouldn’t be easier to buy a gun than to buy a car.” In practice this isn’t that different from how gun laws in Canada are structured, & while gun owners in the states may think Canada is one giant gun free zone, you can own AR-15s, SKSs, & even newer semi-autos like the Kriss if you get a license. And if you’re not an irresponsible jackass, have a history of violence or mental instability, you can get one without much trouble.

Froggin-Bullfish:
Perhaps a more advanced version of the concealed carry class requirement should allow the purchase of semi automatics? They seem to be the general target of this.

Also, banning gun ownership until 21 while promoting it for the armed forces starting at 17 is morally suspect.

This is more than a political issue. This is more than a partisan issue. This is more than a mental health issue, or Republicans would be funding mental health, not stripping it of support. This is not a responsible gun owners’ issue. This is a loophole issue. This is an issue of looking at those countries (Australia, the rest of our world) that do not have problems and learning from them. This is a public safety issue. This is about our children—all our children, conservative and liberal, every race, every background. ? We can shout about this online, or we can work to solve this together. ? Being aggressive toward the other side is not helpful—let us all be examples of peace and remembering that we’re truly in this together. America is about democracy–agreeing, agreeably, to disagree instead of engaging on hate on our fellow citizens. ??#marchforourlives #thebeatles #paulmccartney #neveragain #parkland #lasvegas #shooting #publicsafety #ourchildren #peaceonearth #goodwilltoall #nra #gunsafety #commonsense #commonwealth #elephantjournal #clooney #2ndamendment #secondamendment #wellregulatedmilitia #gunviolence #americafirst #daca ?Get my daily editor’s letter only at: elephantjournal.com/best (free)

A post shared by Elephant Journal (@elephantjournal) on Mar 24, 2018 at 11:16am PDT