Gun Violence in America: A Public Health Issue

[Nate_HWN]

Our team really enjoyed this insightful article from Science-Based Medicine on learning to see gun violence in the U.S. as a public health issue. Quick but informative read!

sciencebasedmedicine.org/gu...

[LORBIC]

They missed the real issue here and it isn't guns, it's the hands of mental health patients who are getting the guns, when they shouldn't be. There isn't enough education being provided to all young people about guns and how to properly use them. when I was a child, it was the father who took the child out and showed them the proper way to handle a gun, the safety issues to follow with the gun and you didn't get a gun unless your father thought you were ready for the gun and then the father purchased the gun for the child. We need to get back to the things that work in this country, instead of looking for cop outs and blaming the guns. Guns don't shoot themselves and this what people can't get in their heads.

[Nate_HWN Administrator in reply to LORBIC]

Thanks for your response LORBIC. It's certainly a complex topic without a single right answer. I agree with you that gun safety training should be emphasized. When I was in Boy Scouts, we didn't fire our rifles until we learned how to disassemble and reassemble them. Intimate knowledge of our guns helped us respect them as tools.

But a comparison can be made between guns and cars here. Cars are dangerous, and cars don't drive themselves--people drive them. We can't blame cars for car deaths (unless it's faulty construction).

Because they have the capacity to be so dangerous, we put many measures in place before someone can get behind the wheel, making sure they have received the proper training, practice, and licenses. You can't just run down to the used car lot and buy an F150 and drive off without a license and registration. You have to have undergone some training and been deemed an adequate driver by the state. There is substantial oversight to ensure only competent drivers have legal road access.

Does that stop all car deaths, or prevent someone from driving their car into a crowd of people? Of course not. People will always be unpredictable. But these safety measures go a long way in preventing these scenarios and protecting public safety.