Doctors Consider Gun Violence a Social Disease

[News]

Experts call for a science-based approach to prevent harm.

Chart shows the proportion of homicides by weapon

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[Vorenus]

Those seem like more than reasonable arguments to me.

[Happiness]

Well it is a well thought out approch if it is going to get the education out there. So my question is this, in the states once you go through the permit process are you required to take any fire arms government certified courses. In BC you have a few to go through to be able to legally go hunting.

[ERDoc]

YOU CAN'T TAKE MY GUNS!!!!!! IT'S IN THE CONSTITUTION!!!!!!!

Seriously though, you are required to have a license and register to drive a car, why can't the same be done for guns?

[chbare]

Would a "gun license" decrease the incidence of violence in the United States? I am not so sure considering how many people die from motor vehicle related incidents in spite of every state requiring a drivers license. I am not opposed to a "gun license" per se, but I would have to question it's efficacy.

[paramedicmike]

YOU CAN'T TAKE MY GUNS!!!!!! IT'S IN THE CONSTITUTION!!!!!!!

Seriously though, you are required to have a license and register to drive a car, why can't the same be done for guns?

Not to take any particular side here, but you've kinda' answered your own question. Driving is a privilege. Firearm ownership is a right protected in the Constitution and upheld by SCOTUS.

[ERDoc]

It may be a right protected by the constitution but there is nothing in the constitution that prevents registration/licensing. chbare, you might be right, it might not have any affect but how do we get the US off the top of the list for the most number of gun related deaths per capita? Why are we towards the top of the list to begin with? I'm not saying I have the answers.

[chbare]

I am not sure. It seems to be a complex issue. There are very violent countries such as Mexico that have strict laws and limited "john Doe" weapons access. There are countries with high per capita gun ownership that are not violent. Of course, the reverse is true as well. Clearly, more than just access to firearms is causing issues and I suspect each country has unique social, cultural and ethical issues. It is clear that violence in the United States is an important issue. I'm not sure that myopic and radical views such as take away all guns or have everybody carry guns are the answer to this issue. Unfortunately, people often end up taking sides without admitting the complexity of this problem, and it is a problem regardless of your political views. IMHO.

[Bieber]

We have had a very high level of gun violence here lately, so the issue is hot in my area. It's a complex issue and like Chris pointed out, there are countries with high gun ownership and low crime rates and countries with low gun ownership and low crime rates. I tend to agree with him that it seems to be a cultural issue. I'm not sure what the solution is, but I tend to cringe when I hear people promoting more guns. Anybody have any hard numbers on the actual incidence of crimes successfully prevented/stopped by legal gun owners?

I agree with ERDoc on gun licensure, although I admit that I don't know how efficacious it would be. I also tend to agree with what the President said about how assault weapons belong in the hands of soldiers, not civilians.

[ERDoc]

I think the closest we have right now to answering that question is Kennesaw, GA. In 1982 they required every head of household to own a firearm and ammunition. Unfortunately any analysis that has been done has used a small town outside of Chicago for the control. The towns have large differences in their demographics making any study pretty unreliable, but both sides like to manipulate the facts to meet their views. I'd like to see a true, reliable, scientific study.

On a side note, I'm surprised anyone from Georgia supported such an unfunded, individual mandate.