Guns and the gap between voters and G.O.P. leadership

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We’re seeing a widening gap between citizens and Republican leadership when it comes to gun violence. People are coming to grips with the fact that the status quo is unacceptable.

Republican leadership, however, doesn’t get it or doesn’t want to get it. There are few exceptions, such as Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, who is promoting a six-point plan to decrease gun violence.

Based on a Quinnipiac poll, released on Feb. 20, 2018, here’s how Americans feel about gun violence:

  • American voters ...
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4
MAR
4

Social Issues

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Quick access to guns is killing our kids

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Some months back, four-year old Bryson Mees-Hernandez (that’s him, to the left) found a gun in his grandmother’s house in Houston and shot and killed himself. Bryson acted like a typical youngster. He found something new and interesting and played with it. What his grandmother did—allow a firearm to lay unlocked out in the open—was inexcusable, but her behavior is excused in that we don’t mandate gun safety.

Bryson’s story is ...

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12
NOV
7

Gun Policy

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Focus needs to be on reducing gun deaths

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Almost every day we read about gun deaths. What’s behind this problem? The National Rifle Association tells us, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”  Let’s go with that. The FBI reports that in 2012, people killed 144 babies, 422 kids age 12 and under, 1327 teenagers, 96 husbands, 498 wives, 140 mothers, 126 fathers, 168 boyfriends, 494 girlfriends, and thousands of others, for a grand total of 12,723 people—with guns.

The numbers will not go down dramatically until we change ...

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21
APR
0

Gun Policy

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Kids shot accidentally because of easy access to guns

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Just a week ago, NBC News reported that a 12-year old walked into a New Mexico middle school gymnasium, armed with a sawed-off shotgun.  He shot two students.  Both sustained serious injuries.

Yesterday, The Dispatch reported that a 4-year old boy in Detroit was fatally shot by his 4-year old cousin, a girl.  According  to police, the children were playing in a bedroom, where the cousin found a rifle under the bed. The rifle was loaded and unlocked. The cousin picked ...

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19
JAN
0

Gun Policy

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Should teachers carry guns?

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A Columbus, Ohio, teacher has suggested in a letter to the editor that teachers who have a concealed carry license be permitted to carry their firearms in the classroom. He proposes the idea to help make “school buildings safer.” With so many mass shootings nationwide, it’s easy to understand why the idea is raised, but the idea necessarily leads to the question, how effective will teachers be in a gunfight?

To get a sense for the blur of thoughts and distorted ...

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14
NOV
0

Gun Policy

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Doctors must be able to ask about guns

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On July 30, state Sen. Kris Jordan, R-Dist. 19, introduced Sen. Bill 165, which would prohibit physicians from asking patients questions about whether there are guns in their home. What do guns have to do with a person’s health, and why should physicians care whether their patients have guns?

Pediatricians ask these questions because guns are a leading killer of children. The Children’s Defense Fund reported that in 2008 and 2009, 5740 children and teens, including 299 children under age 10, ...

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18
OCT
0

Gun Policy

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