What To Do About Guns - Realistic policies to ameliorate America's epidemic of gun violence
Lots of What-Ifs.
BW: Whether it's handguns that are killing tens of thousands of people in cities like Chicago or Philadelphia or it's these high-capacity weapons that are being used in school shootings, innocent people are dying. It seems that far too often this issue is being used as a political football and that as a result, real, meaningful reforms are not being put forward. What do you think should and can be done to stop this crisis?
Just when I thought - now at last we're getting somewhere ...
Without rhyme or reason - RS answers: My focus is on the lost or stolen guns - the handguns that are used for most homicides in the United States. If we can do something about this, we will make a dent in the problem.
What?
Then RS relates his Second Amendment for cars analogy - licensing and insurance for guns.
Later RS reveals his true belief: "I wouldn't shed any tears if we got rid of the Second Amendment."
I think it does make sense to pay more attention to lost and stolen handguns because those categories are used in homicides many times more often than any type of rifle. I don't know what kind of policy would be most effective, but better enforcement of existing laws seems like a good start.
RS's Second Amendment for Cars analogy is foolish. Do you really think that mandating licenses and insurance for guns in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia will work? Will the Black-on-Black murder rate change significantly? I do not think it will. It's just more cash for the politicians.
We do not need Bari Weiss, Rajiv Sethi and David French discussing guns.
Here's where I paraphrase Prof. Loury from Turning Pain Into Purpose:
The work of Sylvia Bennett-Stone and Robert Woodson serves as an example to those of us who believe that, if black lives really do matter, we’ll need to work with, not against, law enforcement in order to save them.
We need more folks like them. God bless. Thanks for your time.
I agree that comparing deaths resulting from use of firearms to motor vehicle deaths makes little sense. The biggest problem with this idea is that most motor vehicles are accidental while most firearm deaths are intentional. Gun safety is very important, both in how they are designed and used, but gun control advocacy is almost never motivated by accidental deaths.
I am disappointed that you seem dismissive of good faith discussion such as that on Weiss' podcast. BTW, I was inspired to support Voices of Black Mothers United by Sylvia Bennett-Stone's appearance on The Glenn Show.
Are you objecting to the phrase "common sense" or the discussion? I agree that it's not a particularly good name for a web site. I hope that name doesn't prevent you from listening to the discussion, which was excellent. I agreed with French more than the other two participants, but they all made some good points. BTW, the Podcast is called "Honestly." That's probably not a much better name than "Common Sense," and it's not why I listen to it.
Wow. I just received your reply in my inbox today. What? Where? It's nearly two weeks since that post. Is your reply for real?
Before signing up, I read: “Substack is effectively scamming less-established journalists into thinking that newsletter writing is more remunerative than it actually is … an elite group of Substack Pro staffers, handpicked by editors, have been given the resources to write full time. Everyone else on Substack has to do it for free until they manage to claw and scrape their way into a subscriber base that pays. Realistically, almost nobody will reach that point."
Then I read: “Substack’s carved out a space where thoughtfulness reigns, and individual creators are rewarded for the depth of their contribution. It’s refreshing, and it gives me a glimmer of hope for the future of indie media.”
It’s free - I'll give it a try. While stumbling through the tons of fictionists, online journal and social media rejects, I found Glenn Cartman Loury - a Black economics professor willing to discuss race and equality in America. The honest conversation about Trayvon Martin sealed the deal.
Disclosure: I am/was not a paid subscriber to any content. Your reply in my inbox and today's note from Glenn Loury (This thread is only visible to paid subscribers of Glenn Loury) clinched it. In my opinion, Substack is a scam – an echo chamber – a Twitter thread, etc. In my opinion, a waste of my time. Please do not reply. Thank you.
I'm looking forward to the discussion on Bari Weiss's podcast. It doesn't seem to have been released yet.
What To Do About Guns - Realistic policies to ameliorate America's epidemic of gun violence
Lots of What-Ifs.
BW: Whether it's handguns that are killing tens of thousands of people in cities like Chicago or Philadelphia or it's these high-capacity weapons that are being used in school shootings, innocent people are dying. It seems that far too often this issue is being used as a political football and that as a result, real, meaningful reforms are not being put forward. What do you think should and can be done to stop this crisis?
Just when I thought - now at last we're getting somewhere ...
Without rhyme or reason - RS answers: My focus is on the lost or stolen guns - the handguns that are used for most homicides in the United States. If we can do something about this, we will make a dent in the problem.
What?
Then RS relates his Second Amendment for cars analogy - licensing and insurance for guns.
Later RS reveals his true belief: "I wouldn't shed any tears if we got rid of the Second Amendment."
I think it does make sense to pay more attention to lost and stolen handguns because those categories are used in homicides many times more often than any type of rifle. I don't know what kind of policy would be most effective, but better enforcement of existing laws seems like a good start.
Please let me add this ...
RS's Second Amendment for Cars analogy is foolish. Do you really think that mandating licenses and insurance for guns in cities like Chicago and Philadelphia will work? Will the Black-on-Black murder rate change significantly? I do not think it will. It's just more cash for the politicians.
We do not need Bari Weiss, Rajiv Sethi and David French discussing guns.
Here's where I paraphrase Prof. Loury from Turning Pain Into Purpose:
The work of Sylvia Bennett-Stone and Robert Woodson serves as an example to those of us who believe that, if black lives really do matter, we’ll need to work with, not against, law enforcement in order to save them.
We need more folks like them. God bless. Thanks for your time.
I agree that comparing deaths resulting from use of firearms to motor vehicle deaths makes little sense. The biggest problem with this idea is that most motor vehicles are accidental while most firearm deaths are intentional. Gun safety is very important, both in how they are designed and used, but gun control advocacy is almost never motivated by accidental deaths.
I am disappointed that you seem dismissive of good faith discussion such as that on Weiss' podcast. BTW, I was inspired to support Voices of Black Mothers United by Sylvia Bennett-Stone's appearance on The Glenn Show.
Thank you for responding. To each his own. In my opinion, many times 'Common Sense' makes no sense.
Are you objecting to the phrase "common sense" or the discussion? I agree that it's not a particularly good name for a web site. I hope that name doesn't prevent you from listening to the discussion, which was excellent. I agreed with French more than the other two participants, but they all made some good points. BTW, the Podcast is called "Honestly." That's probably not a much better name than "Common Sense," and it's not why I listen to it.
Wow. I just received your reply in my inbox today. What? Where? It's nearly two weeks since that post. Is your reply for real?
Before signing up, I read: “Substack is effectively scamming less-established journalists into thinking that newsletter writing is more remunerative than it actually is … an elite group of Substack Pro staffers, handpicked by editors, have been given the resources to write full time. Everyone else on Substack has to do it for free until they manage to claw and scrape their way into a subscriber base that pays. Realistically, almost nobody will reach that point."
Then I read: “Substack’s carved out a space where thoughtfulness reigns, and individual creators are rewarded for the depth of their contribution. It’s refreshing, and it gives me a glimmer of hope for the future of indie media.”
It’s free - I'll give it a try. While stumbling through the tons of fictionists, online journal and social media rejects, I found Glenn Cartman Loury - a Black economics professor willing to discuss race and equality in America. The honest conversation about Trayvon Martin sealed the deal.
Disclosure: I am/was not a paid subscriber to any content. Your reply in my inbox and today's note from Glenn Loury (This thread is only visible to paid subscribers of Glenn Loury) clinched it. In my opinion, Substack is a scam – an echo chamber – a Twitter thread, etc. In my opinion, a waste of my time. Please do not reply. Thank you.
It's here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/58Lkwt29Qv2pD3mdkCa6Ar
I guess I didn't look far enough back in time. I'm not sure how much delay the Glenn Show has.