On The Wrong Path

For John, BLUF:  I don't think we can end gun violence going down the path laid out by the Democratic Majority in Congress.  Not all paths lead to success.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

---

Together, we can end gun violence.

From Congresswoman Lori Trahan, 13 March 2021, 9:01 AM.

Here is the lede plus one:

I normally try not to clog your inbox with multiple emails in the same week, but this is too important to wait.

Each year, tens of thousands of people in the United States -- including thousands of children -- lose their lives to senseless and preventable gun violence.  As an American, this sickens me.  As a mom, it infuriates me.

On Thursday, I took action.  The House took up and passed two key pieces of legislation to get at the root cause of the gun violence epidemic in our nation.  These bipartisan bills would require universal background checks on all gun purchases and finally close the “Charleston Loophole,” which allows guns to wrongly be sold to violent offenders and domestic abusers.

I applaud our Congresswoman, Ms Lori Trahan, for trying to do the right thing.

I fear, however, she and her colleagues are looking at this through the wrong end of the telescope.  Over half our gun deaths are suicides.  Yet we do not lead the world in suicides.  We are middling.  Yes, many of our suicides are from guns.  That said, I don't think a lack of guns will reduce suicides.  Other nations, with stricter gun laws, have more suicides.  When people wish to commit suicide, and our mental health support is weak,♠ they will find a way.

As to the smaller proportion of gun deaths, from Wikipedia we have:

Gun violence against other persons is most common in poor urban areas and is frequently associated with gang violence, often involving male juveniles or young adult males.

So, it isn't evenly spread across the nation, but is concentrated in pockets.  To me that suggests there are factors other than, or in addition to, the availability of guns.  Further, the gun of death is not the rifle,♥ but the handgun.

So gun violence seems focused in poor urban areas.  What impact would a 3% change in the Labor Participation Rate have on this?  I think noticeable. We need change.  We need some creative thinking.  Congresswoman Trahan should hire an analytic contrarian.

On the other hand, it probably wont be me.  I am a creative thinker,♦ but I am older and I am a Republican.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Our mental health system is not good.  The reason is that when problems of the old system were exposed in court, the state (and Federal) governments just abandoned the mentally ill to their fate.
♥  This suggests that the vaunted ban on 206 "assult weapons" is not the key to stopping gun violence.
♦  In Elementary School my teacher wrote on my Report Card that I was a "Critical Thinker".  My Mother told me the techer probbly meant "Critical Stinker."