In 2015, according to statistics published by the New York Times, over 185,000 firearms were purchased on Black Friday, an astonishing new American shopping record. On Christmas day, there were 27 gun related deaths reported in the United States, excluding suicides, according to an article published recently in the Washington Post.

   To put this into international perspective, the sum total of gun related homicides for the year in Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Estonia, Bermuda, Hong Kong and Iceland combined did not exceed 27. Even more perturbing is the fact that the tally of 27 deaths is actually under the daily American average of homicides involving guns.  

   With just over 13,000 gun related homicides recorded in the United States in 2015 alone, an average of about 35 people were killed by guns on a daily basis. I find these statistics unsettling, to say the least.

   In the Roaring Fork Valley, it’s pretty common to find come across hunters who carry registered hunting rifles designed to kill animals.  For many people in our community and throughout Colorado, legal recreational hunting is a totally acceptable pastime, one I have no qualms about whatsoever.  However, while I do not consider myself a firearm expert, I feel comfortable making the distinction between a hunting rifle, a rifle meant to hunt and kill animals , and a firearm purchased or sold for the sole purpose of killing human beings. I would not feel the need to address gun control at all if the facts were not utterly terrifying. Certainly, it is not totally surprising that American gun violence is skyrocketing. The USA is the undisputed international leader in firearm sales.

   Civilians in the United States own about 270 million guns, according to CNN, which amounts to a firearm for nearly 90% of America’s 321 million citizens. As stated in an article released by Forbes magazine, an average of more than 32,000 people per year are killed by guns in the United States.  This year, nearly 700 children under the age of 12 were killed in gun related incidents (including suicide) and, according to statistics published in the conservative magazine, the National Review, just over 20 million guns were purchased.

   However, despite the rash of recent gun related havoc and bloodshed, the fact still stands that the American people love their guns. Instead of remedying the problem through stricter regulation, the national consensus still sways toward gun proliferation.  In fact, gun violence seems to be a perfect excuse to buy more guns.  Americans seek a solution by taking personal measures for their own personal safety.  To initiate change, our country needs to face the reality that  gun violence in America is far from a  personal problem, it’s a national catastrophe.  

   The problem lies in the logistics and entrenched nature of our nationally backed gun legislation.

   President Barack Obama has had to deliver statements about gun violence 15 times over the course of 2015. However, congress has continually squashed his legislative efforts to tighten up gun laws.

   On January 5, 2016, Obama announced executive actions to tighten gun regulation by instituting mandatory background checks for all gun sales, providing federal agencies with resources to enforce existing laws, and by shaping and insisting on the future of gun safety technology.  Additionally, in response to the various politicians who blame mental illness for gun violence and mass shootings, Obama initiated a 500 million dollar investment to increase access to mental health facilities.   

   Perhaps these powerful actions are enough to make a tenable difference or, at the very least, reveal to the public the value of stricter gun regulation.

   American citizens are quite protective of their constitutional right to bear arms. The 2nd Amendment, adopted over 300 years ago in 1791,  states, “…the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” Yet it’s likely that our founding fathers did not foresee a future when regular civilians could purchase (for self defense!)  automatic weapons that fire up to 166 bullets per second.  

   We live in a community that remains relatively untouched in the midst of this national epidemic.  We read about violent incidents that happen in other places, to other people and feel somewhat outside the fray. Yet the persistent lack of effective gun control laws means communities everywhere, communities like ours,  are vulnerable. Pro gun Americans talk a lot about their constitutional rights. I’d like to suggest that it’s my right as an American citizen to feel safe from gun violence.

Do you have an opinion about gun violence? Email me at [email protected]