HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

Attention all political junkies, news know-it-alls, or just skimmers of stories! (that's most of us!)

Welcome to the first USDemocrazy Current Events Caucus.

If you have a brain, here's your chance to flex it with your fellow forum-ites! 

Our first caucus is about the vexing issue of GUNS.

Today in America, school shootings seem to be almost a regular occurrence. There's a fair chance that gun-related violence might impact our lives or those of someone we know.

How do we cope? Is there an answer? More guns? Less guns?

We look forward to your thoughts, observations and personal insights on this tricky subject.

First, some arguments for gun freedom:

Using guns to defend oneself has a long, proud, history in the United States. Washington Post columnist Courtland Milloy tells of how early civil rights activists used their personal weapons to defend their families from white vigilantes. 

However, the right to "keep and bear arms" isn't a historic relic. It's a necessity. 

Americans often discuss "gun control" (meaning anything from bans on semi-automatic weapons to more stringent background checks) in the context of mass shootings. In these situations, seconds mean lives, and police response time can be minutes too long.

Allowing trustworthy people the power to defend their schools, homes, and places of worship from armed attackers is common sense. Neither is this entirely hypothetical: we know of potential mass-shooters stopped by "good guys" with guns. 

We cannot go back to a gun-free world. The best thing we can do is to spread the power of weapons as equally as possible.

And an opinion on why we should regulate weapons more strictly:

America leads the world in rate of gun ownership. No, you shouldn't be proud.

According to a 2007 study by Harvard University, gun ownership rates correspond to significantly higher homicide rates across both states and countries. 

Just as disturbing? Higher rates of gun ownership by state correlate positively with successful suicide attempts. Given that three out of five gun deaths are self-inflicted, this is no small problem.

In fact, this hints at a more fundamental issue: access to guns enables impulsive violence, creating tragedies from situations that might otherwise be deescalated. While mass shootings may occasionally be stopped by armed civilians, the fact remains that if the perpetrator did not have access to a (usually legally acquired) gun, there would be nothing to stop. 

Weapons just create need for more weapons.  Let's build a nation of peace - by carefully regulating our guns. 

Share your thoughts!