I will undoubtedly receive more hate mail for this article, but someone has to tell the truth, and that has been my promise. The mainstream media will never tell the American people the truth for fear of losing viewers, and subsequently advertisers.

Statistics can be manipulated to favor any side of an argument. But the truth is the truth. The great evil in America is greed; profit at the cost of human life and individual freedom. If the facts that I’m going to give you fail to convince you that some form of gun control is mandatory for the survival of 300 million plus Americans, you are in denial and a ‘gun nut’ who should not be considered an American.

Law enforcement does not keep statistics relating to gun deaths of or committed by children. Local newspapers do, and the fact is that at least one child is killed or a family member or neighbor is killed by a child every month in our nation. Experts claim the numbers are higher. Idiot gun owners fail to secure their weapons of mass destruction in a manner which would prevent such atrocities.

Gun deaths in the United States caused by family members or known acquaintances, and those who misused these weapons through accident or suicide neared 35,000 in 2013. Those who have the courage to investigate the reality of unnecessary death by gun violence cite the ease of purchase, and the availability of weapons which can kill dozens of individuals in seconds and have no other purpose.

Politicians representing the right wing of our nation fail to recognize the truth. Their fear tactics relating to Al Qaeda or ISIS are less of an immediate threat when compared to the danger for average citizens who are in jeopardy of serious injury or death related to the use of guns.

The NRA will offer statistics telling us that the numbers killed by individuals in our nation is relatively small. They want us to forget the elementary school in Connecticut, or a theater in Colorado, and even a black church in South Carolina. They resist the need for comprehensive background checks, the banning of assault rifles and high-output magazines, and they even deny that ‘smart guns’ would be an improvement, and prevent accidental shooting in the home.

I already hear some screaming about the second amendment. The Bill of Rights is the most important document ever written to protect the people of our country. The right to own guns will never be taken away, but it does not restrict legislation which would protect our people today, and still allow gun purchase for those who pass minimal requirements. It was the author of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson, who suggested the need to review the document every 19 years and institute changes beneficial to a forward thinking nation.

The NRA preys upon the weak-minded and their emotions to falsely claim that some want to take their guns away. Untrue. All Americans who actually believe in the Constitution, and not just parts of it about which they personally approve, would never allow this to happen. But the majority of Americans have the right to feel safe as they live their daily lives. If one life is saved because the sale of a gun was refused to a mentally ill person who failed their background check, the effort was worth it.

Our legislators must ignore the NRA gun lobby and do the right thing. Human life is more important than profit.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

Photo Courtesy of Edward Kimmel

Author’s Page http://www.amazon.com/By-James-turnage/e/B00LOCJ2Z2