Our inability to talk about gun regulations is literally killing us
The election of Donald Trump has given this country an unexpected opportunity — some breathing room to talk about gun violence without anyone fearing that Congress might delete the Second Amendment or the White House could send troops to the door to confiscate our rifles.
That was never in the cards, but with Republicans calling the shots in every corner of Washington, all of America can be assured that it's simply not going to happen.
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We understand that gun control isn't popular in Texas. But nationwide, only 11 percent of Americans say they think gun laws should be relaxed. Five times that many say the laws should be strengthened. More than 1 in 3 gun owners shared that view.
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Besides, even as he penned the landmark decision in Heller, Scalia had in mind precisely the kinds of conversations we are calling for. "Nothing in our opinion," he wrote, "should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."
https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2016/11/17/inability-talk-gun-regulations-literally-killing-us
As long as the right-wing NRA apologists, and Second Amendment absolutists keep shouting down the majority of Americans who want to address the gun violence epidemic in this nation, nothing constructive will be accomplished. Until these extremists admit that the major objection to any form of gun control is really about greed and profits, and NOT constitutional freedoms, absolutely nothing will be done to prevent the gun carnage in our communities.
There is nothing unconstitutional about sensible gun control. The NRA mantra that Democrats want to take away their guns is absolute bullshit, and is evidenced by the fact that there are more guns in private hands in the USA than anywhere else on the planet -- including some military organizations. In fact, most right-wing NRA/ILA/GOA/ALEC talking points about gun control are absolute bullshit, and are very Trump-like.
Even in the face of the Trumpian resistance to common sense regulation of lethal weapons, progress is being made at the local levels, and for that we are all grateful. The efforts of Gabby Giffords and others like her ARE making a difference. Support a gun control organization today for the sake of your children's futures.
