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Our “gun culture” must change

2 min read

Are you as fed up as I am when you turn on the news or open the newspaper and learn about another shooting victim, or multiple shooting victims? The Second Amendment to the Constitution reads, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

We have a well-regulated driving population that must be tested, licensed, insured, and follow a bunch of different rules, including not drinking before or while driving, wearing seat belts or not texting. But people are still are able to drive.

We successfully changed the smoking culture in this country because doctors stood up and showed that smoking is unequivocally a health hazard. Now, regulations are in place to safeguard not only smokers, but those who inhale secondhand smoke. The number of smokers has been significantly reduced. And yet smokers can still buy and smoke cigarettes within those limits.

We successfully changed the smoking culture in this country, and can do the same with the gun culture.

We need some brave people to stand up and say unregulated gun possession is a health hazard. Statistics clearly back this up. Guns are sold at flea markets and online with no background checks, no tests, no licensing, no insurance requirements, and no laws against drinking alcohol or texting while shooting. As it stands now, you can’t be sure you will not be shot in your home while watching TV, in an amusement park with your kids, in a basketball court with friends, in schools, or just walking or driving down the street. This fills my heart with terror, and if that is not terrorism, I don’t know what is.

We have done it before with other “freedoms” that are a hazard to the greater population. We can change the gun culture.

Mary Lou Burger

Washington

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