Brunswick Beacon, 04.20.23
In Nashville on March 2, three nine-year-olds were murdered by a shooter under psychiatric care. On March 12, a 3-year-old Houston girl shot and killed her 4-year-old sister. On March 28, a 16-month-old Indiana toddler was shot and killed by his 5-year-old sibling. On April 4, a 2-year-old Texas boy killed himself with yet another unsecured gun. Some people still invent excuses for doing nothing.
Take John Comparetto’s April 6 letter: “The problem is not guns. It’s Democrats and their failed policies.” Google “The Two-Decade Red State Murder Problem” for the truth. The murder rate was higher in Trump-voting states than Biden-voting states every year this century. Comparetto claims “blue cities within the red states” are to blame. Researchers debunked that claim by excluding murders from red states’ largest cities. Their murder rate was still higher.
Red states have weak gun laws, more guns, and the five highest gun-death rates: Mississippi (#1), Louisiana, Wyoming, Missouri, Alabama. Blue states have stronger gun laws, fewer guns, and the five lowest gun-death rates: Hawaii (#50), Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York.
New York has 5.3 gun-deaths per 100,000 people. North Carolina has 16. South Carolina has 22. Mississippi is highest with 28.6.
Weak gun laws give America the worst gun-death rate among high-income countries, 22 times that of the European Union. While our overall crime rate is comparable to the United Kingdom’s, our gun-death rate is 100 times higher!
In 2023’s first 104 days, we’ve suffered 155 mass shootings. We’re awash in guns. We have 4% of the world’s population, but 46% of civilian-owned guns. With 466 million guns, we’re the only country with more guns than people.
Americans want sensible laws that keep guns away from people who shouldn’t have them: 78% support secure gun storage, 86% support red flag laws, 89% support universal background checks.
Stop making excuses. Start protecting children from people who shouldn’t have guns.
Vince Amoroso
Sunset Beach