Guns

The obvious solution to the murderous atmosphere in our cities is the banning of hand guns. Illegal hand guns can be concealed and trafficked easily. In the hands of a criminal or a drunk, a hand gun is simply a murder waiting to happen.

Our politicians are gutless on this issue. They readily bow to pressure from the gun industry, represented covertly by the NRA, which shouts constitutional protection at every attempt to curb gun violence. The huge traffic in illegal guns brings profit to the gun industry. No rational opponent of illegal hand guns will attack the right of citizens to own a rifle for protection of his/her home or for sport. Yet, the NRA rabidly resists any moderate measures to stop street violence in our cities.

As long as our public policy is determined by profit motives of individuals and corporations, we will be denied the safety and health we deserve as human beings. This is a key difference between progressive thinkers and conservatives. Conservatives are so obsessed with holding on to what they have that they are unable to honestly look at what they and their fellow human beings need.