AndyS
AndyS's JournalSo far in 2022 . . .
Every day there were:188 people shot (killed or injured).
66 suicides by gun, a very permanent solution to a usually temporary situation.
40 were homicides.
3 were accidental.
2 of them were under the age of 11.
1 of them was a bad guy shot by a good guy with a gun.
On average 5,000 guns are sold in America every day.
If this is the 'price of freedom' why do only innocent people pay it?
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
Do something about it. Resources.
Nearly 2 in 3 Californian adults have had at least indirect exposure to [gun]violence.
It's like Six Degrees of Separation. Guns and Gun Violence has become so pervasive that almost everyone knows someone who has been directly touched by it. Think about yourself and all the people you know. It's not just adults, think about all the children who routinely do Active Shooter Drills. As a Grandfather of three I can attest to the effect it has on them.
For my own part my Sister in Law's son committed suicide with a gun. A close acquaintance's daughter attempted suicide with a gun he kept for home defense (had it not been for his military training in dealing with sucking chest wounds she would have succeeded). I personally have had a gun pointed at me while the user tried to clear a jam by repeatedly working the action and pulling the trigger (fortunately it was a very stubborn jam).
If you are not one of those 2 in 3 the powers that work the cosmos have been kind to you. Next time you're in a group of people look to the one next to you on either side and think about it.
I have two missions in life:
To make images that reflect things that affect me. https://andyshanks.smugmug.com/ (pay note to Activism on that page) and to educate everyone I can about the pervasive influence and social damage that guns do to society. That includes the influence of money from the gun industry and the brainwashing of gun fetishists by that industry.
Ignorance is bliss and I was quite blissful until December 14, 2012. I held a Federal Firearms License so I could collect antique guns from the WW I era and buy/sell over the internet without a background check on each one. I grew up in a rural culture where guns are ubiquitous and no more noticeable than the flatware next to your dinner plate. Then on that date 20 first grade children were killed with a military grade weapon after a person who had no business being close to such a weapon fired 500 rounds in five minutes, most of them into the bodies of babies weighing less than 50 pounds.
That changes a man. Or it should. Apparently it doesn't if that man loves guns.
I started looking into guns in America and what I found shook me.
There are more guns in America than people. 120 guns for every 100 people.
Since 1970 when the National Rifle Association, once a bastion of gun safety education and reasonable gun regulation, was taken over in a coup by the gun makers the country has become more and more inundated with guns and and any sense of responsibility for gun ownership eroded. Working in the quiet and secrecy of legislator's offices with campaign funding the gun industry has effectively turned the will of American voters on its head.
Only 9% of voters favor loosening gun laws yet state after state approve Stand Your Ground laws and "Constitutional Carry" (it's not) laws that allow anyone to carry a loaded gun in public without a permit, background check or training. Most recently in Texas the "Constitutional Carry" law passed against the will of 82% of polled voters.
Gun deaths in America were at a low of 4/100,000 when Bill Clinton signed the Assault Weapons Ban. It is now at 13/100,000 and edging up to the all time high of 14/100,000.
Every recognized violence prevention organization beginning with Amnesty International, The UN and most local law enforcement recognize the availability of guns as the NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF HOMICIDE AND INJURY.
I am convinced that if America knows what I do things will change.
So I and people like me are the worst nightmare of of the Gun Culture. And yes, we will take the guns away. Not today, not tomorrow. But we will. It took 50 years of working in darkness and secrecy for an industry that thrives on death and injury to bring us to where we are and I will work to the end of my days to reverse it. And my numbers are growing.
Educate yourself. Knowledge is power.
Well, who da' hell woulda' thought?
How about that. A white guy commits two felonies and pleads down to $2000 fine. Rittenhouse was not charged with having a gun underage because there is a loophole in the state law to allow it for 'hunting'. I guess that applies. It certainly appears that he was looking for (er, I mean hunting) something. It was, after all, a BLM protest.
Meanwhile:
Gun deaths and injuries are at a 15 year high and the trend is increasing.
Folks, we gotta' get this gun thing under control. Why are guns so damn special? Why are white guys with guns so damn special? Why can't we see what the entire world sees, that availability of guns is the SINGLE cause of increased homicide/suicide/accidental violence?
It doesn't have to be this way if we just pay attention and demand change. Imagine.
As of today, January 9, 2022
there have been 986 gun deaths and 720 gun injuries for a total of 1,706 people who have been personally touched by guns. Not counting the families that will carry the burden of loss and damage . . .
There have been 110 children under the age of 18 killed or injured.
There were 29 unintentional shootings.
13 mass shootings.
There have been 15 defensive gun uses. That works out to .87% of shootings being good guys with guns.
I am told repeatedly that we must have guns to defend ourselves. I'm sure that very soon that .87% will grow to some number large enough to justify the others.
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
A look back and a glimpse of the future.
691 mass shootings, the most since GVA started tracking in 2014
20,658 gun deaths
40,358 gun injuries
24,090 gun suicides (an estimate calculated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Of note is the homicide to suicide ratio. In the past suicides outnumber homicides 2:1. 2021 it was a pretty even split. Hint: suicides didn't go down. Gunners don't want to count suicides by gun as gun violence because, Hey they did it to themselves so it's not really violence! They should spend some time with those left behind.
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org
Ya' know what they say . . .
The quote is misleading in that gun sellers are not required to PROVIDE safe storage but to MAKE IT AVAILABLE FOR SALE. The last time I bought a gun from an FFL I'm sure there was a safe storage device somewhere on the premise, no doubt covered in dust and cobwebs. I was not advised of such devices or the necessity of using one. I've also been told by some gunners that a safe storage defeats the whole purpose of having a gun--must have instant access at all times in case the zombie apocalypse begins while surfing DU.
You know what they say, you can lead a whore to culture but you can't make 'em think . . .
Don't give up, never give up. She didn't.
Gabby Giffords was a professional motorcycle road racer. She owns a classic BMW bike she had planned to ride to the southern tip of South America.
She was elected to Congress as representative from AZ.
Then she was shot in the head from a few feet away. She hasn't given up. If she can stand this strong, why can't the rest of us?
Gun deaths continued to rise in 2021
681 — the number of mass shooting incidents in the United States in 2021.
Why is this? Maybe this has something to do with it:
There are more guns than people in the US. Sixty-five times more guns than all the military and all the police forces in the country combined.
There is legal protection for gun sellers, makers and distributors from civil suits. The only industry with such protection.
People have unfettered access to guns without a background check. They're called 80% receivers and are available on the internet to ANYONE. Even a 13 year old can buy and assemble a gun kit.
States 'Must Issue' licenses and concealed carry permits. No human intervention regardless of local and familial concerns.
We guarantee purchase of a gun in 3 days even if the background check hasn't been completed by a system that doesn't even report all agencies to the background data base.
There is over-the-counter retail access to military grade weaponry that can be easily and legally converted to emulate full auto machine guns. Bump stocks are on again/off again legal and auto-sear/forced-reset trigger assemblies haven't been addressed.
100 round magazines are available over the internet with no background check to go with those converted full auto guns some of which were assembled from 80% receivers with no background check.
Thirteen states have 'constitutional carry' with no restrictions on concealed or open carry, many with no background checks or training.
Thirty eight states have 'stand your ground' laws allowing anyone who feels threatened to shoot another person without the responsibility to retreat if possible. Note the word “feels threatened”.
America, we have a problem . . .
On the 20th day of Christmas . . .
The Gun Violence Archive
@GunDeaths
Weekly Mass Shooting Update: There have been 23 American mass shootings in the 20 days of December, bringing 2021's total to 676.
January: 33
February: 40
March: 45
April: 50
May: 72
June: 77
July: 86
August: 63
September: 66
October: 72
November: 49
December: 23
1:32 AM · Dec 20, 2021·Twitter Web App
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Pelican Bay, TX 76020
Home country: United States
Current location: home
Member since: Thu Jan 20, 2005, 02:07 PM
Number of posts: 14,559