Cheap Lies Take Lives: The Dishonesty In The Gun Debate

Bad economic policies and deucedly wasteful spending has made everything much more expensive. Gas prices have increased almost 50% in 2022. Used vehicles are up 35%, airline fares are up 23%, beef is up 20%, and furniture is at 16%. People are looking for anything cheap.

This is why lies are in high demand right now. Lies are like the honey buns and bags of Doritos you get from the corner store. They are cheap, easily accessible, and taste good. But, a diet centered around cheap, unhealthy food leads to many problems down the road.

America has been consuming cheap lies for decades and is now reaping the consequences of its miasmic ways.

The tragic incident in Uvalde has reignited the gun debate in America and all the lies surrounding it.

Let me make this clear: you will NEVER eliminate ALL gun violence. In a nation with at least as many guns as people, aiming for 0% gun crime is not realistic. Nevertheless, the media exacerbating gun violence is irresponsible and worrisome.

First off, mass shootings of any kind are rare. Despite the inflammatory rhetoric and hysteria on national television, mass shootings are not common. James Alan Fox, a Northeastern University criminologist who tracks mass shootings for the Associated Press and USA Today, says mass shootings are near historic lows. "There is not an epidemic of mass shootings," says Fox. "What's increasing and is out of control is the epidemic of fear." The liars in our journalistic class contribute to the fear, claiming Uvalde was the 27th "mass school shooting" this year. This is not true. In a 2021 study, Fox suggests there is a distinct difference between "mass killing", "mass shooting", and "mass school shooting." Each category has different causes and factors and should not be lumped into one category. Fox says there have only been 12 mass school shootings in the last 34 years.

Furthermore, Fox notes that the odds of a child dying in a mass shooting are about the same as dying in an earthquake or lightning: 10 million to 1.

That said, children's safety in schools should be improved. Diamonds, banknotes and Cardi B get better protection than kids in public schools. If Congress can approve $40 billion to give to Ukraine, and we can pay geopolitical allies to build border walls to protect their countries (while we label a border wall in America as racist), we can approve funding to have 

each of the over 130,000 K-12 schools to have a security apparatus. Armed guards, security cameras, the whole nine. 

This leads to another lie propagated by our industrial media complex: more guns mean more deaths.

Even though Texas is lenient on gun regulations, the Uvalde school district prohibits firearms on its campuses. The Buffalo, New York shooter specifically targeted the area due to its racial demography, income status, and heavy gun regulations. In a poor, black neighborhood where getting approved for a gun permit and paying for one is a nodus, the shooter had almost free reign to wreak havoc.

Only 20 states allow teachers and school staff to be armed. That number should be 50. Teachers should be strongly encouraged to undergo firearm training. Many schools, like Robb Elementary, have signs advertising it is a gun-free zone. Signage saying that school staff may be armed for the safety of students may deter potential intruders who can't be sure who is carrying and who is not.

Moreover, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center, 94% of public mass shootings happen in areas where people's access to firearms is heavily-restricted. 

Liberals on social media love to point to Australia to make their points about guns. Some will highlight that Australia has not endured a mass shooting since 1996 because guns are not widely available.

I live in Australia, where:

-going to hospital doesn't lead to bankruptcy
-the last mass shooting was in 1996
-student debt is not oppressive (has no due date)
-cops don't randomly shoot people and have enforceable restrictions in line of duty

But tell me how great the US is.🧐 https://t.co/5Vmie69M1Q

— Ginsengaddict wants a Federal ICAC 🇭🇲 (@ginsengaddict) May 25, 2022

After a mass shooting in Port Arthur in 1996 that took the lives of 35 people and injured 23 others, Australia mandated a firearm buy-back program. As a result, over 650,000 guns were relinquished. However, this is only half the story.

There are far more guns in Australia now than in the 1990s. A 2021 study by the University of Sydney shows that while the number of Australians who own guns has decreased, the number of guns per gun owner has increased significantly. In fact, the number has nearly doubled, going from 2.1 guns per gun owner in 1997 to 3.9 in 2019. Once again, debunking the claim that more guns mean more gun violence.

The Twitter user also does not beget the difference in culture between America and Australia. The Land Down Under has a more laissez-faire attitude, which is in stark contrast to America's culture of shrewdness and urgency. Both philosophies have their pros and cons.  

In the States, various studies suggest there is at least one defensive use of a firearm (where a person uses a gun to stop an attacker) for every offensive use of a gun (where a person uses a gun for nefarious purposes).

Most people know about the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, where a gunman shot 34 people, killing 17. Later that year, in Titusville, Florida, a gunman opened fire at a peace rally at Isaac Campbell Park following a dispute over a basketball game. The park was full of parents and their children. A bystander, who had a license to conceal and carry, shot and wounded the attacker before an atrocity could occur.

Titusville Police Sargeant Bill Amos said of the bystander, "He's a hero. This park was filled with families and children and, at that time, it was an active shooter situation for him and he was trained enough to deal with it and he did."

An honest media would highlight stories like this to provide balance in the gun debate. Instead, media outlets highlight gun tragedies to bolster their ratings. The cliche in television, "If it bleeds, it leads," still holds true. Who knows how many lives could have been saved if our media was more responsible.

Cheap lies take lives.