Too Many People Have Died

[In which I write to two senators (Todd Young and Mike Braun) and one member of Congress (Susan Brooks).  I expect nothing from any of them.]

It has been another week of deaths.  Deaths that almost certainly would not have occurred—but for the fact that almost anyone can legally obtain weapons for which the only use is to kill people. 

It has been another year of such deaths.  According to the Gun Violence Archive (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/), there have been 251 mass shootings in the first 216 days of this year—an average of more than one per day.  And in just the last two days, 29 people have been killed.  


We allow almost anyone to buy weapons that are designed for one purpose—to kill people—with little apparent concern for the consequences.  We do not effectively regulate the manufacture of those weapons, or of the ammunition used in those weapons.  We do not effectively regulate the sale of such weapons, in large part because of the ease with which private sales escape any sort of regulation.  And what regulations that do exist vary significantly from state to state, meaning that, in practice, restrictions on gun sales are no stronger than the weakest state regulation.

Many states (42, according to the Gifford Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-public/open-carry/) permit the open carry of handguns and/or long guns.  Every state permits the concealed carry of handguns (in 35 states, a concealed carry permit is required: https://lawcenter.giffords.org/gun-laws/policy-areas/guns-in-public/concealed-carry/).  And there do not appear to be any significant requirements for training in the use of these weapons.


Indiana, for example,
--Does not require a permit to purchase , handguns or long guns
--Does not require registration of long guns of hand guns
--Does not require any license for the possession of long guns or hand guns
--Places no restrictions on the possession of assault weapons
--Places no restrictions on magazine size
--Does not require a license for the carry of a long gun
--Does require a license for the carry of a hand gun
--Does allow concealed carry of a handgun (but not a long gun) on college campuses
--Does not allow local jurisdictions to enact stricter laws
--Does not require background checks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Indiana

In short, Indiana places essentially no restrictions purchase or ownership, or on the types of weapons that many be acquired.


Texas laws—which I mention because of the recent mass killing in El Paso—are apparently almost identical.


The consequences of the lack of regulations of the ownership pf firearms in the United States is quite clear.  Deaths from the use of firearms, both suicides and killings of others, occur at a much higher rate than in other countries (aside from those in which there are wars or armed insurrections in progress).  Mass killings occur frequently in the U.S. but rarely elsewhere.  Any yet Congress does not act.  How many deaths, how many permanently disabling injuries are too many before Congress acts?  Bob Dylan wrote a song more than 40 years ago in which he asked “how many deaths will it take ‘til we know that too many people have died?”  He said that the answer was blowing in the wind.  That was not good enough then, and it’s not good enough now.  Too many people have died.  This year, and this week.  It is time for Congress to act.  It is time for you to act.