10 Days To Christmas

With the murderous shooting in Oregon only a couple of days ago we are again hearing about an even worse shooting in Connecticut. This Country, the good old U.S.A. has a serious problem. And the problem is anchored in the 2.Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, namely the right to bear a weapon. The United States is the country with the worlds heaviest concentration of weapons in the population. Whenever we mention the easy access to weapon in this country we are met with the hogwash argument of the 2.amendment. Another hogwash argument we have been  told is that Americans want to be able to defend themselves. Now, where were the people who could defend Gaby Giffords, the Aurora Theater Visitors or the students at Virginia Tech or today the many poor children which were killed in a senseless murderous act? Nobody raised his weapon against those perpetrators. Nothing at all happened to take out those killers. Why?  Because in most cases it won’t be possible. The United States Constitution was crafted at a time when the most of the country was without a standing law enforcement. It was also called the Wild West. Over 100 years have passed since that, but it seems that people’s minds are at a stand-still. Not only is the United States the country with most civilian weapons in the world, but it is also the country where its citizens are the most trigger happy in the world. Not only is it easy to purchase one gun, but in most States you can buy as many as you want. Why is it necessary to have a full array of different guns in the house and not even be required to lock them away in a safe place. What are the views of Americans about gun laws? Since 1990, Gallup has been asking Americans whether they think gun control laws should be stricter. The answer, increasingly, is that they don’t. “The percentage in favor of making the laws governing the sale of firearms ‘more strict’ fell from 78% in 1990 to 62% in 1995, and 51% in 2007,” reports Gallup. “In the most recent reading, Gallup in 2010 found 44% in favor of stricter laws. In fact, in 2009 and again last year, the slight majority said gun laws should either remain the same or be made less strict.” Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/12/14/nine-facts-about-guns-and-mass-shootings-in-the-united-states/ The 2.Amendment never mentioned the right to automatic and semi-automatic weapon either. So there should be good reason to replace the 2.Amendment with something more adequate.   Eleven of the 20 worst mass shootings in the last 50 years took place in the United States. Time has the full list here. In second place is Finland, with two entries. More guns tend to mean more homicide. The Harvard Injury Control Research Center assessed the literature on guns and homicide and found that there’s substantial evidence that indicates more guns means more murders. This holds true whether you’re looking at different countries or different states. Citations here. Today, European countries are standing by, looking at America with wonderment, asking what’s going on in this society and condemning the stand America has taken to protect their citizen’s love affair with the “Right” to carry a weapon. Columbine, Virginia Tech, Tucson, Aurora, Oregon Shopping Mall and now an elementary school in Connecticut. How many more dead people, how many more shootings will it take before gun advocates like the terrible NRA will be told to shut the h*ll up. A government has the duty to protect the lives of it’s citizens. When will it happen in the United States?