Curb Violence in USA
Selling more people more guns does not curb gun violence. In the U.S. over all, about 2500 children die from gunshot violence annually. U.S. children and teens are 17 times more likely to die from a gun shot than children in 25 other high-income countries combined according to the Children’s Defense Fund. In 2012 12,253 adults died from gunshot homicides. Many more adults committed suicide or suffered accidental deaths by gunshots, and also there were non-fatal gunshot crimes.
How can we curb U. S. gun violence? More than 50% of voters support restrictions on gun sales such as these. Please see Mom’s Rising for more information.
- Criminal background checks for all gun purchases, including at gun shows and on the Internet.
- A ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
- A federal anti-gun-trafficking statute with real penalties to crack down on straw purchases
There are more factors that promote violence. Our movies and TV shows often show stories where killing is commonplace and very violent. The Lone Ranger of old shot the gun out of the “outlaw’s” hand. Today multiple “good” guys are killing “outlaws”. Many youngsters are accustomed to watching and listening. This plus the availability of guns make us one of the most violent societies in the world. Parents can and must continue to stop children from watching all this violence.
Disgruntled extremists add to violence in our society. Often for quasi-religious reasons some extremists believe they have the right to murder people whose actions clash with their values. They may be jihadists killing Christians or they may be right to lifers killing individuals performing abortions. Sadly, they may be police officers or white racists killing people of color. They may be African Americans fighting back. Also there are men who shoot into a crowd killing and wounding many.
Because some mass killings occur in schools, many schools have contracted with police officers who are called “school 
resource officers” or SRO’s. The federal government began funding SROs after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999. There is a good and bad side to this program. SROs are on hand in the event of a major shooting. But, teachers are referring students to them for disciplinary purposes. Sometimes the police react to a teacher’s call for help with violence. In Richmond VA a disabled student aged 12 was violently restrained on the floor. In the Pinellas County Schools FL, children have been sprayed with pepper. In a Baltimore school a pre-teen was pulled out of her chair and onto the floor, and in Texas an SRO body slammed a 12 year old girl onto the floor.
How can we curb violence when the police are violent with our children? This is illegal for a teacher. Also the child learns that violent behavior is acceptable. We could curb violence if we taught our children to cope with conflict in a reasonable and peaceful manner. Here is more information in this regard from the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Justice Department.
