Tick, Tock, Glock

One of the problems with the gun violence debate is that it tries to be scientific in how it presents the issue.  That works well if you just want to go by numbers.  But numbers don't always get the point across.

The "pro-gun" side has used emotion (fear) to get its point across for ages.

The blog "Thoughts at Large" came up with a really great post, Tick, Tock, Gloc, which poins out how the numbers play out:

According to the Brady Campaign, on average, for the five most recently available years for which statistics are available, every day in America there are:

291 people in America are shot (including 52 children (ages 0-19)

87 people die from gun violence:

32 are murdered (including 6 children)

51 kill themselves (including 2 children)

2 die unintentionally

1 is killed by police intervention

1, intent unknown

205 are shot and survive:

148 shot in an assault (including 34 children)

10 survive a suicide attempt (including 1 child)

45 are shot unintentionally (including 9 children)

2 are shot in a police intervention

 If we take these numbers and divide them equally over the course of a day, this is an average day in America.

The rest of the blog does a good job of how this plays out in reality.

Now repeat this, every day, until enough of us demand a better society.

People seem to forget that there was a certain incident that led to the creation of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence: the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinkley.

I would add that President Reagan and Jim Brady were surrounded by armed Secret Service Agents.

This was written by Ronald Reagan, in announcing support for the Brady bill yesterday, reminded his audience he is a member of the National Rifle Association. 

So, next time you say that "gun control" is "liberal", remember that people like Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, and Ronald Reagan supported it.

www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/opinion/why-i-m-for-the-brady-bill.html
Published: March 29, 1991

Why I'm for the Brady Bill

"Anniversary" is a word we usually associate with happy events that we like to remember: birthdays, weddings, the first job. March 30, however, marks an anniversary I would just as soon forget, but cannot.

It was on that day 10 years ago that a deranged young man standing among reporters and photographers shot a policeman, a Secret Service agent, my press secretary and me on a Washington sidewalk.

I was lucky. The bullet that hit me bounced off a rib and lodged in my lung, an inch from my heart. It was a very close call. Twice they could not find my pulse. But the bullet's missing my heart, the skill of the doctors and nurses at George Washington University Hospital and the steadfast support of my wife, Nancy, saved my life.

Jim Brady, my press secretary, who was standing next to me, wasn't as lucky. A bullet entered the left side of his forehead, near his eye, and passed through the right side of his brain before it exited. The skills of the George Washington University medical team, plus his amazing determination and the grit and spirit of his wife, Sarah, pulled Jim through. His recovery has been remarkable, but he still lives with physical pain every day and must spend much of his time in a wheelchair.

Ronald Reagan 28 Years Ago

Yesterday was the 28th anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. Also shot in the attempt were Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy, District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty, and President Reagan's Press Secretary, James S. Brady. Fortunately all four survived. Jim Brady suffered the most serious damage, but out of this dramatic incident came the Brady Law, enacted under President Bill Clinton 13 years after the shooting.

The Brady Law requires criminal and mental health background checks for gun purchasers at Federally licensed gun dealers. Since the law took effect in 1994, over 1.6 million dangerous people have been denied gun purchases at the point of sale.

My hat comes off to the folks over at the Brady Blog, who confront incredible resistance in order to carry their message of hope for a safer America. This resistance comes in many guises, not the least of which is the continual accusation on the part of pro gun folks that the Bradys are less than sincere, that they have ulterior motives, more sinister motives. It boggles the mind that anyone could find fault with an organization that can claim 1.6 million gun purchases denied due to their background checks.

What's your opinion? Do you remember those dramatic hours of Reagan's shooting? Do you think there might have been other Hinckleys among those 1.6 million? Do you think there are too many guns in the United States?