Gun Control

Recent postings on the internet have included figures purporting to show that guns are the least major cause of death in the US. They claim that their figures are for “the first half of 2016”, but according to Snopes.com, those figures are actually a projection, based on figures from 2011. The most recent figures I could find were from 2014. Based on those figures, here are the actual US relevant statistics, including the most major causes of death, but not including fetal deaths from abortion, which is a separate issue.

Actual Death Figures (2014)*

Heart disease:                      614,348
Cancer:                              591,699
Smoking-related                  163,700
Other respiratory diseases:    147,101
Unintentional injuries:          136,053
Stroke:                              133,103
Alcohol:                              78,000 (excluding drunk driving)
Suicide:                             42,773 (including gun-related)
Automobile accidents:**         22,752 (excluding drunk driving)
Drunk driving:                       9,967
Murders by firearms***           8,124

* All figures are from US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) except as otherwise noted. CDC reports some deaths in round numbers, such as alcohol- and smoking-related. 2014 is the most recent year for which all figures have been compiled.
** US Department Of Transportation (US DOT). Distracted driver-related auto accident death figures not available for 2014.
*** FBI  All sources agree that suicides account for 60% of all gun-related deaths, though specific figures are not consistent between sources. Alcohol-related firearms death figures not available for any year, but a 2014 research paper by University of Pennsylvania Professor of Epidemiology Charles Branas, Ph.D. states: “Over one-third of firearm injury decedents had acutely consumed alcohol prior to their death; over one-quarter of these decedents had heavily consumed alcohol.” (emphasis added)

Unlike firearms, which have legitimate use in home and self defense, farming, and hunting, alcohol and tobacco have no such legitimate uses, and caused approximately fifty times as many deaths as guns did in 2014, as nearly as can be determined.

If automobile deaths are included (non-alcohol-related), and are balanced by including gun-related and non-gun-related suicides, the figure drops to “only” thirty-five times as many. So programs aimed at reducing alcohol and tobacco and automobile misuse, or promoting alcohol, tobacco, and automobile safety, have the potential to prevent thirty-five to fifty times as many deaths than similar programs aimed at gun users.

Conclusion: those who are concerned about firearms use in crimes causing death would instead do well to re-direct their efforts toward alcohol, tobacco, and automobiles. Even considering all deaths caused by guns, and not just deliberate murders, gun-related deaths are a minute fraction of all preventable deaths in the United States, on the close order of 3%.  Even eliminating every single gun in the USA, if it could be done, and even if the killers did not find another way to kill, could only prevent 1 in 85 deaths at most.

I am not a gun owner, and am not associated with any gun rights organization. But I am a believer in searching out the truth and following it wherever it leads. It’s not the guns that are the problem, it’s the people. Preventing drunks, crazies, and terrorists from gaining access to automobiles, and convincing Americans to treat alcohol, tobacco, and cars with respect, would save many, many more lives than even the most stringent gun control laws could ever hope to accomplish.

The Common-Sense Party

Wonder where "all the real candidates" are? They have joined The Common-Sense Party, which is attracting voters and candidates from both sides of the aisle. Their motto is, "Dignity, Experience, and Integrity", and they appear to mean it. 

They believe that the personal characteristics of a candidate are far more important than the details of any political platform, so they don't have one. They believe you can best judge a candidate's worthiness to govern by their past performance. They believe that working together to govern fairly is far more important than divisive rhetoric.

Their candidates are all experienced politicians of longtime service, great integrity, and dignity.  Presidential candidate is Jeb Bush, a man who is personally experienced in governance and in electioneering, as the longtime governor of Florida. His vice-presidential candidate is Bernie Sanders, a man of such imposing integrity that neither Hilary Clinton nor Donald Trump has been able to accuse him of any malfeasance, and who, despite being the only Socialist in the US Senate, keeps getting re-elected. 

With a line-up like that, they ought to attract voters from all of "middle-America", and support from all the Democrats and Republicans who cannot stomach either Hilary or Trump. Unfortunately, it's certain that they will not win the election. Not because of any failing, but because they do not exist. I just now made them up.

Don't you wish they did exist? They can, you know. Just write them in on your ballot this November.

This political announcement has been endorsed by common sense, and paid for by no one. Common sense does not accept campaign contributions. Do not send money. Just spread the word.

ORLANDO

I've heard the Orlando massacre called "the result of Christian bigotry" or of "home-grown terrorism." Let's get the facts straight: the Orlando massacre was neither. The perpetrator was a self-declared Muslim, NOT a Christian. Those who can't tell the difference between Islam and Christianity have no right to voice opinions about either. Nor was it "home-grown terrorism." The man pledged allegiance to ISIS, which claims to be a country. Last I heard, when you pledge allegiance to another country you forfeit your American citizenship. The man was a TRAITOR, not an American. The massacre was indeed terrorism, but was not based on any American ideology, sanctioned by any American organization, or carried out by anyone who claimed to be American. So what was it? It was terrorism by an evil traitor. It was a TRAGEDY.

Those who would use such a tragedy to advance their own, entirely unrelated agendas, political or religious, or anti-religious, make themselves accessories-after-the-fact, and beneficiaries of terrorism and treason. In my opinion, that makes them terrorists and traitors, too.