Every morning we get two death counts on the news. One is the number of civilians the Russians killed with their missiles, exploding drones, and artillery in the Ukraine War. The other is the number of Americans shot in just mass shootings. The mass shootings numbers are only those events with four or more people shot. Why is the American number often higher than the Ukraine?

            Is America an undeclared war zone? Is it the war against the people by the gun lobbies and manufacturers? We have had truces in the past which reduced the number greatly but they expired. Are our politicians too scared of losing the gun lobbies and their conned membership’s financial support? The fast majority of voters want Congress to pass laws on what guns civilians can own so why isn’t anything being done?

            Thirty people were shot at a block party one evening along with three other mass shootings. That day was just a blip in the news cycle over most of America. Have we become that numb and disinterested in mass murder in America? How sad!    

        One follower wondered if I have ever fired a gun from my comments on guns. He figured I must be a liberal who had never been around guns. This is a logical question since I appear to be anti-gun which I now am. It is a complete change from when I was growing up and maturing.

            I have easily fired over 3,000 thousand rounds of .22 caliber through a 50-year-old bolt rifle and a Western style revolver plus a couple of boxes with a semi-rifle. Over open sights with the bolt I could hit a can at 30 yards and a can tossed in the air with the pistol most of the time.

            I shot several boxes of .410, 20, 16 and 12 gauges. I got no thrill out of shot guns because they didn’t require much skill to hit a target. I hit a running rabbit with the .410 at over 40 yards while climbing an open stair, shooting through the steps from the hip. That was a hip shot. I killed another with hip shots from the .22 rifle when it was running at an angle. The last two shots with a hot barrel went off on their own.

            I feel bad for the animals I killed so I quit shooting and ended the addiction of guns when I was 20. The urge is still there when I am around guns but like any other addict I work to overcome the urge. I imagine it is like someone who has smoked, drank, or took drugs.

            Today’s gun addiction is fed by the NRA and gun manufactures through ads and social media. I was a member of the NRA for a few years until I figured out it was all about the money and not gun safety. Oh yes, the actor, Charlton Heston, was paid more to front for the NRA than he ever made in films, according to his agent.

        President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said during World War II “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Perhaps Americans have never had so much fear as today. This fear is not from an outside entity but from other Americans and Latino immigrants. Other Americans fears include fear between blacks and whites, and within each race.

            An obvious but mostly wrong conclusion is the regular media who carefully avoid race and gang affiliation which would mean non-gang people shouldn’t be overly concerned about their safety. Right wing cable news can’t get through a news cycle without trying to scare their audience into mistrust and fear of almost everyone and their government. Their underlying ideas are you must buy at least one gun to defend yourself and your family because they are coming after you!

            They are coming after you apparently means going to the wrong car in a parking lot, knocking on the wrong door, or driving up the wrong drive way. Other reasons for someone to shoot another person is taking a shortcut through an unfamiliar neighborhood while carrying groceries, jogging on a street too often, pushing a harasser away from your family, or chasing a basketball into a neighbor’s property. The last was a little girl and the father trying to shield her from more bullets.

            Far Right people and the Far Right media constantly make people think their own government is going to take your gun away from them, so they go buy one! Some states promote having a gun while others which want to restrict access are subverted by the easy access neighboring states.

            Of course the gun lobbyists and manufacturers are at the root of those fears. Remember: “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

        I keep hearing the so called law-abiding constitutionalists that say we have enough gun laws on the books. We only need to enforce them to cut crime. Illinois is a prime example of how those laws are skirted. Illinois has fairly strict ownership laws but there are many ways to get around them. The gun dealers want to make money from sales so they sell assault weapons to anyone with money no matter what tattoos or badges they show. Extended magazines have only one real reason to exist and it is to kill lots of people.

            The easiest way around Illinois Laws is to cross the Indiana border and buy guns from a gun show. No waiting period – just walk in and walk out with guns and magazines. Pay $500 in Indiana, cross the border, and sell for a thousand.

            Going back to the first sentence about all those law abiding people are law enforcement that are sworn to enforce the laws the legislature passes.  Recently a law was passed to restrict the purchase and ownership transfer of certain guns. A large number of sheriffs and police chiefs had said they won’t enforce them. What if someone was killed because the local chief or sheriff didn’t do their job? They should be at the top of the law suit list.

            The gun lobbyists and indoctrinated nutcases defend their right to have these guns by saying it is only the mental cases that are dangerous. Could it be feeling the need to own an assault gun and expended magazines are examples of a mental problem? We know a woman who has assault guns for the purpose of defending herself when the Army comes to take them away from her. Perfect examples of someone the law is intended to keep gun-less.

    In the run-up to the midterm elections, the National Rifle Association spent sixteen million on 257 Republican nominees plus another 8 million on lobbying state and federal Legislatures. How many millions were spent on influencers and propaganda on social media? Most of the twenty-four million came from their members who believe the line they are fed. Most of the rest is from the gun manufacturers and retailers.

      The manufacturers and retailers have been successful in their efforts to persuade legislators to pass laws protecting them from lawsuits involving bad manufacturing and usage by murderers. They have done this with campaign donations and direct money in the legislators pockets through legal ways.

      The issue is probably one of the two most divisive issues in America with the other being abortion. For several years we have been warned about Russia’s cyber groups putting misinformation and divisive stories onto social media under the guise of being Americans. Their goal is to further divide us through many Americans addiction and belief in social media.

      The United States has more guns per capita than any other country but Israel which requires their reservists to keep their military issued weapons at home. We have more gun deaths than any country not in a war. Why? Twenty-four million in just one election cycle is a great first guess.

      As of this writing 10,467 gun deaths, 6,006 suicides, 424 children under 18 killed, and 131 mass shootings as of this year and yet little is being done to stop the spread of guns. Twenty-four million!?!

        The Second Amendment was approved before revolvers were invented much less bolt action and lever action rifles in the 1800s. The Thompson (Tommy) Sub-machine gun came along in 1918 and in June 1922, Congress passed the Firearms Act prohibiting them. In 1986 the Firearms Owners Protection Act banned automatic weapons with the NRA Support which was before they changed leadership and manufacturers started supporting them financially.

            Today an owner of an AR-15 type weapon can quickly and easily be converted to an automatic by an on-line purchase of a couple of parts. The instructions accompanying the parts are so easy Junior High kids could probably do it. Anyone can order the parts.

            The NRA and other gun organizations have decided to scare Americans into buying guns manufactured by their supporters. After everyone has semi-automatic pistols and rifles, will they step them up to fancier and more expensive weapons, perhaps a 20 millimeter chain gun as in the movies! Will the next step be to push the most scared of us into highly sophisticated military weapons – perhaps a twenty millimeter chain gun as in the movies?  Will Congress fold under pressure from the gun organizations and do nothing? Of course – they want some of that money, too.

        Many states are looking for a way and reason to ban many weapons which are used primarily to kill people. I would suggest they first limit hunting with a rifle to a .22 and for small animals only. Continuing the three-shot magazine and barrel length of shotguns is necessary to lessen its use to kill humans.

            All firearms magazines should be limited to nine bullets and only loose shells may be carried on the person over the nine in the magazine. Bullet kinds would to be limited to standard hunting types.

            No 3-D ghost gun can be manufactured or owned by anyone. No parts can be added to a weapon to make it shoot faster than originally designed. No gun can be allowed to shoot without a finger pulling the trigger for each shot. Fines and imprisonment would be imposed for violations.

            To prohibit unauthorized use of a gun, every gun must be kept in a secured location or in a secured bag. In both locations a keyed gun trigger must be used. No gun that violates these rules may be kept outside a licensed facility for recreational use.

            Purchase, sale, or transfer of any guy shall be registered by the state. Failure to do so shall be a second degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine and confinement for six months in a low security facility. Allowing an unregistered person to use a gun outside of a recreational facility is subject to the above punishment. Checking time for legal registration shall be no less than one month.

            The Second Amendment does not prohibit the kind of gun or its size of magazine as the ban on Thompson Sub-machine was allowed. The safety of its citizens must be the highest priority and not the finances of the gun industry or the campaign funds of our elected officials.