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Abstract

nt part of the Second, the militia clause:</p><blockquote id="75d7"><p>A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.</p></blockquote><p id="5682">Historically, militias were always regulated. They weren’t just a bunch of yahoos running around with any gun that could shoot. The Supreme Court made yet another of its stupid decisions when it claimed that the militia clause has no meaning, but that’s nonsense. Every clause in the Constitution is meant to clarify its limits. The limit on the Second is “well regulated.”</p><p id="c870">3. Gun extremists say that problem is mental health, while gun banners say the problem is guns. They miss the fact that this country’s handling of both is awful. A little googling will show you that the US is either #1 or in the top five for many mental health issues.</p><p id="e509">A <a href="https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/mental-health-america-crisis">statistic everyone should know</a>:</p><blockquote id="fe6f"><p>Forty percent of Americans with a 12-month history of severe mental disorders do not receive any treatment.</p></blockquote><p id="cb58">4. Gun extremists argue that the US has too many guns to regulate. They have a point there: The US is #1 in gun ownership with 120 civilian guns for every 100 citizens. The Falkland Islands at #2 have half that number.</p><div id="d8f0" class="link-block"> <a href="https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gun-ownership-by-country"> <div> <div> <h2>Gun Ownership by Country 2022</h2>

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      <div><h3>Gun ownership varies significantly around the world. More than 175 of the world’s countries allow their citizens to own…</h3></div>
            <div><p>worldpopulationreview.com</p></div>
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    </div><p id="5401">But that only means the US must take on the challenge with the same vigor it applied to the space race. The time to act is now. When the neoliberal age dawned in the 1970s, an average of eight Americans were killed each year in mass shootings. Today, an average of 51 per year are killed. The number will grow until we embrace solutions like those of other major nations.</p><div id="8fc6" class="link-block">
      <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/death-toll-mass-shootings-united-states-is-rising-study-finds-2022-02-04/">
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            <h2>Death toll from mass shootings in United States is rising, study finds</h2>
            <div><h3>A government-funded research project released on Friday sheds new light on the upward trend of mass shootings in the…</h3></div>
            <div><p>www.reuters.com</p></div>
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    </div><p id="35f1"><i>Coming soon:</i> A look at identitarian shooters.</p></article></body>

Not Either/Or—the US Needs Well-Regulated Guns and Better Mental Health Care

There are two subjects I rarely write about because nothing I say will change the minds of the polarized: abortion and gun rights. But the double-punch of the Uvalde targeting of children and the Buffalo targeting of black people has made me take on the gun issue.

There’s been no major progress on regulating guns in the US for several reasons:

  1. If you only read the internet, you would think regulating guns is one of the US’s great taboos. It’s not. An overwhelming number of Americans support more regulations.

2. Gun extremists insist the Second Amendment prevents gun regulation. They ignore the most important part of the Second, the militia clause:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Historically, militias were always regulated. They weren’t just a bunch of yahoos running around with any gun that could shoot. The Supreme Court made yet another of its stupid decisions when it claimed that the militia clause has no meaning, but that’s nonsense. Every clause in the Constitution is meant to clarify its limits. The limit on the Second is “well regulated.”

3. Gun extremists say that problem is mental health, while gun banners say the problem is guns. They miss the fact that this country’s handling of both is awful. A little googling will show you that the US is either #1 or in the top five for many mental health issues.

A statistic everyone should know:

Forty percent of Americans with a 12-month history of severe mental disorders do not receive any treatment.

4. Gun extremists argue that the US has too many guns to regulate. They have a point there: The US is #1 in gun ownership with 120 civilian guns for every 100 citizens. The Falkland Islands at #2 have half that number.

But that only means the US must take on the challenge with the same vigor it applied to the space race. The time to act is now. When the neoliberal age dawned in the 1970s, an average of eight Americans were killed each year in mass shootings. Today, an average of 51 per year are killed. The number will grow until we embrace solutions like those of other major nations.

Coming soon: A look at identitarian shooters.

NRA
Guns
Gun Violence
Second Amendment
Mass Shootings
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