Have we become an accomplice to the crime?

 

Today’s blog is about change, not taking sides or creating conflict. If you have felt helpless to know what to do regarding gun violence in America, I have listed some action steps you can take to create change.

A personal note from author: Guns have always been part of my family culture. My grandfather was an avid hunter. When I was old enough to learn how to shoot a gun, I was taught gun safety at our local rifle range. Guns were always locked in a safe and held with the highest regard and respect for the safety of others. I have even participated in team events at the rifle range. I have never seen a gun abused or used carelessly. The friends and family I know who own guns have earned the right to carry them. This blog is not about taking away the right of sane people to carry a gun. This is about standing up and saying: I value life more than I value an argument. I value peace more than I value my opinion. I value a safe community enough to step out and take action and tell my elected officials that back ground check loop holes need to be closed and unlicensed guns and dealers need to be off the streets. Our borders need to be made safe from drug and gun traffic. Our mental healthcare system needs repair. This is about, not wanting to wake up to another news report of mass shooting, suicide, or violent crime. America reform laws every year to protect the lives of our community: Infant seats, texting and driving, drinking and driving, cigarette warning, seat belts, helmets…it is time we did something to protect the ones we love from gun violence. Smart Rights…Protect Lives!

Has our country become an accomplice to gun violence and mass shootings?

In basic legal terms, one who is compliant is said to be an accomplice. Even though he or she doesn’t actually commit the crime, it is his or her intentional and voluntary encouragement or assistance in the commission of the crime that makes them liable in a court of law.

The only action I have seen from our elected politicians addressing gun violence is their Twitter feed of condolences for the families and friends of the victims. But is it all their fault? NO. Personally, I have stood by and done nothing, hoping someone with “power” would DO SOMETHING to stop the madness.

The truth is: As human citizens of this world, we are all responsible to protect the lives of our neighbor. We all have the power to create change. When will our society as a whole rise up together and declare the tragedy of our compliance? It will happen when, as individuals, we all act!

Apologists for the status quo will tell you – “It is impossible to know whether [these] murders specifically could have been prevented by a more stringent gun control regime, let alone by one characterized exclusively by background checks” (The Guardian.com, 2015). However, let me tell you the truth, it is possible to know – study the empirical research and evidence that proves gun control prevents violent crime by guns. Anyone who tells you that more stringent gun control won’t eliminate murder, is telling you, “I choose to ignore the data because I value my right and my individualism, more than I value your life”.

We must educate ourselves to the excessive availability of guns, America’s glorification of individualism and autonomy, and the cultural phenomenon of copycat mass shootings and suicides that are taking lives by the millions.

The fact is: If the gunmen of the last 885 mass shootings had NO gun, innocent people would still be alive. If the criminal had a knife, he or she will have to catch you. A mass murder is nearly impossible with a knife. Virginia TV Journalists Allison Park and Adam Ward would both be planning their engagements, weddings, and futures. 20 children (and 6 adults) from Sandy Hook Elementary would be putting on their back packs to head off to their first days of the new school year…Over 32,000 moms, dads, children, sisters, brothers, and friends would be saved this year from a horrifying end. No broken hearts. No grief that spans more than the grains of sand on the earth. No missed birthdays, Christmases, and graduations. Less guns = less violence. It is not rocket science.

What will it take for us to get the facts straight and join together as a community to take action? Will it be your child, your husband, your wife or friend who is killed next or takes their own life? The way mass shootings and suicides are trending, it is all too much a reality of our futures if we don’t act NOW. It is time to get our head out of the sand and look at the smart facts.

Smart Facts:

1. More guns = more violence. The US has more death by guns than any other developed country simply because we have more guns. The empirical evidence is clear and consistent not only for our country as a whole but also for each individual state. The more guns owned in a community, the higher rate of death by firearm.

1. “Arming the good guy” is a myth. Gun ownership is not making us safer, it is endangering our families and communities. The argument of “arming the good guy” is based on fear, not intellectual thought or empirical evidence. If you think you need a gun to protect yourself, you are probably wrong. Check out this report from the Harvard Injury Control Research Center. Eliminating guns protects life.
2.  Smart Rights – Protect Lives. Setting gun control policy should not be difficult. It takes ethical leaders that are willing to do the right thing not the popular thing. There are numerous democratic developed countries that have acted on gun reform laws after the FIRST mass shooting (not the 887th).

Here are a few examples of developed countries with smart gun control:

After 35 people were killed in Tasmania in 1996, Australia’s government enacted sweeping gun control measures. The result was that both homicides and suicides by gun were immediately and sharply reduced, and there have been no mass killings in the country since. Conversely, there have been 885 mass killings in the United States since December 2012, (Notable: one per day) when a gunman killed 20 elementary school students and 6 adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut (The Washington Post, 2015).

Our family recently returned from a vacation to Ireland. I was surprised to find out that Ireland has one of the strictest gun laws by allowing only hunting or sporting firearms on a three year renewal policy. Their police force are also routinely unarmed. A person who wants a gun must give a good reason (i.e. hunting or sport), have a safe place to practice and take lessons (prove membership of a club), show evidence of safe storage, and establish sound mind and responsibility (by medical records if necessary).

Britain and France have also banned almost all guns. “In 2010, roughly 70% of US homicides were by gun whereas in Britain including Northern Ireland only 9% were by gun. In the US in 2012 the total firearm-related death rate including both suicides and homicides was 10.2 per 100,000; in France the comparative figure was 3.0; in Britain, 0.25. So the US firearms-related death rate was about 40 times that of Britain” (The San Diego Free Press, 2013).

You have a right to bear arms today, but you also have a responsibility to protect someone’s life tomorrow. By doing nothing, you simply become an accomplice to the crime. What will you decide?

If you have felt paralyzed by the controversy of gun control but feel it is your time to act, here are some things I suggest you do:

Get Educated:

1. Visit the Brady Campaign for Gun Control website.
2. Read the current statistics on gun violence in America on Vox.com (I did my research, this is the most comprehensive collection of data you will find and the charts and graphs are professional and easy to read.)
3. Did you know that there are $1,973,312,196 (data as of February 2014) in mutual funds invested in 3 American gun companies? If you have investments or IRA programs, you might be supporting gun violence and not even know it. Visit http://unloadyour401k.com/ for more information!

Take Action:

1. SHARE this blog
2. Sign this PETITION – GUN CONTROL NOW – This petition will be sent to The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack Obama. It is time that our 2^nd amendment rights protected human life instead of someone’s rights.
3. Email or call your state Senator – If you live in Washington State, the information for our local senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell is listed HERE. If you are in a different state, simply Google or Bing “Contact information for local senator”. You are welcome to include this blog as your evidence to support gun reform.
4. Pledge your support for gun-free investing by posting a photo of yourself with #ImUnloading on social media, use the hashtag #ImUnloading and the link to http://unloadyour401k.com/