Jimi Little
In spite of the number of churches, temples, and synagogues, firearms remain embedded in American history and culture. Americans own 46 percent of the world’s civilian-owned firearms and use firearms ownership rates far exceed those of other high-income countries. It has been well documented that firearm-related death rates are, among high-income countries, the United States is an outlier in terms of firearms violence. The United States had the highest firearm ownership and death rates of twenty-seven high-income countries.Gun death rates vary widely across the United States due to socioeconomic factors, demographics, and importantly, gun policies. In general, the states in the south or mountain west with weaker gun laws and higher levels of gun ownership, while gun deaths are lower in the northeast where gun violence prevention laws are stronger.'Insanity is when one does the same thing over and over again and expects different results.'-Albert EinsteinToday we educate and train our children in military careers and then send them to foreign lands to kill other human beings, many of which are women and children, sacrificed to protect and serve multinational corporations and groups of elite private businessmen. We honor these heroes, mercenaries, and soldiers of fortune, for causing death and destruction, not the doctors, nurses, surgeons, and physical therapists who heal them.Firearm violence is a preventable public health tragedy affecting communities across the United States. In 2022, 48,830 Americans died by firearms-an average of one death every eleven minutes. Over 26,328 Americans died by firearm suicide; 20,958 died by firearm homicide; 549 died by unintentional gun injury; and an estimated 1,000 Americans were fatally shot by law enforcement.
