More on Gun Control

I had not intended to embark on a campaign for gun control, but, since the massacre at the Pulse nightclub on June 12, I have written two essays on the subject: “Gun Control” and “I Do Want to Take Away Your Guns.” Two days ago, I posted a graphic on Facebook that has been shared more often than any contribution I have ever made there.

That graphic is shown below. (Click on it for a larger version.) For years, Congress has been in the pocket of the NRA, but change may be coming. Americans are clearly fed up with gun violence in America, though the average citizen is still not as passionate about the subject as the average NRA supporter. The recent sit-in by House Democrats, however, is an indication that gun control may be moving up the list of legislative priorities.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan complained about the flagrant disregard of House rules that the sit-in represented. That is a fair criticism, but the encouragement the event gave to people who think our gun laws are crazy was worth the inconvenience and lapse in decorum. Besides, Republicans shut down the whole government in 2013 for no rational purpose. Shutting down the House, which hasn’t accomplished anything useful anyway, for a single day, doesn’t seem like a big deal. Write your senators and representatives.