A GUNS AND POSES UPDATE - A NOT SO SWEET 16

Imagine there was a medicine – let’s call it ballistica, which made
folks feel powerful and safe, and was dispensed in all 50 states, but,
with an ominous undercurrent.  And that was that the states with
highest use of ballistica had markedly higher, and sudden death rates
than those that didn’t, especially among 5 to 14 year old
children.  This, even though such youngsters are not allowed to
purchase ballistica.  Wouldn’t there be an outcry, a non-partisan
outcry, to examine the problem of ballistica proliferation?  We
would like to think so.  Imagine further that there were 105,000
doctors prescribing this drug but one percent, just one, were
responsible for 60% of the incidents where it was misused; would these
doctors be allowed to stay in business and if they were, who would
visit them anyway?  Well if you, dear readers, haven’t guessed, in
the faux universe ballistica is our symbol for guns, and the doctors
are arms dealers.  But numbers here are not symbolic, they are
actual and, lethal, please follow.  The facts are these: 
seriously and sadly, only vehicular crashes and cancer claim more lives
of children in the U.S. then do guns.  The last time there was a
comprehensive survey covering a decade or more, it was found that
certain states stood out as to mortality, and guns per capita involving
5 to 14 year olds.  The dominant factor in high death rates was
not education level, or rate of poverty, but the simple truth (we don’t
consider this a liberal or conservative truth, just a truth truth) that
fewer guns meant fewer children killed and more guns meant more
children killed, by not only homicide, but suicide as well.  The
high gun states were, and we understand are, Louisiana, Alabama,
Mississippi, Arkansas and West Virginia (West Virginia?) and the low
gun states were Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Jersey and
Delaware.  And the difference is not 3 or 5 or even 10 times the
death rate:  it’s a not so sweet 16. 

    A Doonesbury strip on this subject some years ago
said it best, taking on firearm apologists thusly: “So then guns don’t
kill kids, kids kill kids”.  We close with wishes for a safe and
happy holiday, and the Hunter’s Prayer:  “Oh Lord, oh Lord, if you
can’t help me, please don’t help the bear”.

    When it comes to auto safety and cancer; everyone in
America seems determined to work on behalf of a remedy and cure; when
it comes to gun deaths, so many seem to support the cause, to help the
bear.  When it comes to our kids safety, are we friend or faux?