It takes a lot to get the right to drive a car in the US: minimum age, classroom training, a test to prove knowledge of traffic laws, many hours of practice with an experienced driver, a road test with a state examiner. To own a car, you need all that, plus prove of insurance for any harm you might do by driving unsafely.
To use or own a gun? Zilch. Nada.
And yet, according to the US government’s own statistics, guns kill more people in the US than cars. (Source: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/injury.htm)
It is long past time that we put a sensible licensing system in place for gun ownership in the US.
Thank you, to the courageous student activists of March for Our Lives who have converted shock and outrage over gun violence into a well-constructed plan of action. The Peace Plan for a Safer America is a bold proposal for state and federal action to address gun violence, not by taking away guns from responsible owners, but by sensible licensing requirements, including gun safety requirements and training. https://marchforourlives.com/peace-plan/
The Peace Plan looks beyond the horrific shocks of mass murders to the everyday risks that every family in the US faces from our gun-rich culture: suicide, assaults, and accidents involving guns being misused, often by persons other than the gun owner.
There may be many aspects of the Peace Plan that need discussion, but the Peace Plan is a constructive proposal, far beyond our politicians’ go-to “thoughts and prayers” or blaming mental illness. Gun safety should go hand-in-hand with gun ownership.
Thank you, from this mother’s heart.