by Elliott Morss, Morss Global Finance
Introduction
Ah, yes, another gun shooting at a school. The media love it: their readers and viewers spike as we listen interminably to shocked students and crying family members. Chiefs of police and governors get media time as audiences are treated to timelines and every detail of the shooting.
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And once the shooter is apprehended, we are treated to all manner of speculation on the shooters motivation. And then there the second guessing: with his background, how did he legally obtain a gun.
And what do we ultimately learn? We learn that some discontented American nut cake got an automatic weapon and ammo and went on a shooting spree. And then we learn the shooter had mental problems – mental problems? I suggest anyone who kills more than one person with a gun has mental problems.
The political outrage follows. I urge you to listen to Senator Christopher Murphy (D,CT):
And then, silence. It is forgotten. It all goes away until the next school mass shooting only a few months later.
Reflections
Here is the latest information on preventable deaths:
With the exception of overeating and guns, we have regulations to keep deaths down. As I have written, there is not in theory any reason we cannot limit gun deaths by regulating them as we regulate autos:
- Driver/gun owner tests;
- Driver/gun owner background checks;
- Auto/gun registrations;
- Auto/gun insurance.
I said “in theory.” In reality, the NRA does not represent law-abiding gun owners. It represents gun sellers. And they view anything that limits who might buy guns as the enemy. And the NRA has bought off Congress.
Can Anything Be Done?
I have an idea. I would like to put the so-called legitimate gun owners to the test: “you get gun regulations passed or we are going to take your guns away.”
What Does The Future Hold?
The future will continue the slaughter: every few months, another school, theater, hotel and more deaths. Perhaps more worrying is the resulting NRA-inspired movement to convince all Americans that they must carry concealed weapons for protection.
Remarkable. There is no country like the US. But sadly that is what the future holds.
