Kevin Jensen
State Researcher
imported post
http://www.standard.net/live/news/170214
It's time to stand up to the NRA and amend the Second Amendment
By ROBERT C. WADMAN
Guest commentary
When it comes to guns, America is "pacing forward in the hell of make believe." The thought that you will protect yourself from an intruder with a gun is nothing more than a gun industry scare tactic and is not supported by research.
The data is enlightening and sheds a clear light on reality. The death toll of Americans lost in the Iraq war is currently at 4,272. The death toll of Americans lost in the World Trade Center 9/11 terrorists attacks is 2,974.
The death toll of Americans lost in the war in Afghanistan is currently at 677.
The combined death toll for these three national events in which Americans have been violently killed is 7,923.
As you contemplate these tragic numbers and reflect on the individual loss suffered by each death on that person's family, I want to outline the death toll and fantasy created by our unrealistic commitment to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2005, the most current year of firm data, the death toll of Americans to guns in the United States was 43,667.
This is an increasing number. In 1996, the death toll to guns in America was 34,000 people.
It is significant to point out that the death tolls listed above for the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan covers the four years we have been at war.
Each year in America, over 40,000 men, women, and children are killed with guns. Each year, the number of Americans killed with guns is equal to the total of the combined student bodies of the University of Utah and Weber State University.
This monumental and tragic loss of life receives little notoriety. The daily murders, suicides and accidental deaths committed with guns seem to be just an accepted part of American life. As we silently and respectfully listen to the names read off of those killed in war, we seem to blithely accept the death of literally tens of thousands of Americans killed with guns in America.
We shrug our collective shoulders and do nothing. Did the NRA win this war? Has political intimidation forced America's lawmakers to hunker down and accept these deaths?
I simply ask "If over 150 fully loaded 757 airliners crashed each year, killing everyone on board, would you accept it as just part of American life?"
Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George Walker Bush, these are the people I voted for. But on this issue -- America in general and my political party in particular, has lost its way. Can we stop this internal carnage? The U.S. Constitution should be amended. The word amend means,"to make better." Can we make our U.S. Constitution better?
Stop the nonsense over interpreting the Second Amendment and simply change it. The U.S. Constitution has been changed over 25 times. From the Emancipation Proclamation to term limits for the office of President, our U. S. Constitution has been made better.
Remember, less than 90 years ago women were granted the right to vote.
These changes to the U.S. Constitution have made it better. Should the hobby of a few and tyranny of the NRA prevent us from taking action to slow the death rate from guns in America? Don't let the gun industry's bombastic bumper sticker slogans block clear thinking.
Think of the loss of freedom and the loss of happiness to over 40,000 dead Americans and their families, each year, when you hear the cry from those whose hobby and income is supported by the arcane rhetoric that swirls around the Second Amendment.
Stop pacing forward in the hell of make believe and support change for a better America.
Wadman is a professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Weber State University.
http://www.standard.net/live/news/170214
It's time to stand up to the NRA and amend the Second Amendment
By ROBERT C. WADMAN
Guest commentary
When it comes to guns, America is "pacing forward in the hell of make believe." The thought that you will protect yourself from an intruder with a gun is nothing more than a gun industry scare tactic and is not supported by research.
The data is enlightening and sheds a clear light on reality. The death toll of Americans lost in the Iraq war is currently at 4,272. The death toll of Americans lost in the World Trade Center 9/11 terrorists attacks is 2,974.
The death toll of Americans lost in the war in Afghanistan is currently at 677.
The combined death toll for these three national events in which Americans have been violently killed is 7,923.
As you contemplate these tragic numbers and reflect on the individual loss suffered by each death on that person's family, I want to outline the death toll and fantasy created by our unrealistic commitment to the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2005, the most current year of firm data, the death toll of Americans to guns in the United States was 43,667.
This is an increasing number. In 1996, the death toll to guns in America was 34,000 people.
It is significant to point out that the death tolls listed above for the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan covers the four years we have been at war.
Each year in America, over 40,000 men, women, and children are killed with guns. Each year, the number of Americans killed with guns is equal to the total of the combined student bodies of the University of Utah and Weber State University.
This monumental and tragic loss of life receives little notoriety. The daily murders, suicides and accidental deaths committed with guns seem to be just an accepted part of American life. As we silently and respectfully listen to the names read off of those killed in war, we seem to blithely accept the death of literally tens of thousands of Americans killed with guns in America.
We shrug our collective shoulders and do nothing. Did the NRA win this war? Has political intimidation forced America's lawmakers to hunker down and accept these deaths?
I simply ask "If over 150 fully loaded 757 airliners crashed each year, killing everyone on board, would you accept it as just part of American life?"
Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and George Walker Bush, these are the people I voted for. But on this issue -- America in general and my political party in particular, has lost its way. Can we stop this internal carnage? The U.S. Constitution should be amended. The word amend means,"to make better." Can we make our U.S. Constitution better?
Stop the nonsense over interpreting the Second Amendment and simply change it. The U.S. Constitution has been changed over 25 times. From the Emancipation Proclamation to term limits for the office of President, our U. S. Constitution has been made better.
Remember, less than 90 years ago women were granted the right to vote.
These changes to the U.S. Constitution have made it better. Should the hobby of a few and tyranny of the NRA prevent us from taking action to slow the death rate from guns in America? Don't let the gun industry's bombastic bumper sticker slogans block clear thinking.
Think of the loss of freedom and the loss of happiness to over 40,000 dead Americans and their families, each year, when you hear the cry from those whose hobby and income is supported by the arcane rhetoric that swirls around the Second Amendment.
Stop pacing forward in the hell of make believe and support change for a better America.
Wadman is a professor in the Criminal Justice Department at Weber State University.
