Shall We Always Have A Gun Problem?

Gun control could be approached as a public health issue...

 

In a surprisingly tone deaf, utterly unimaginative, and sadly predictable press conference, Wayne LaPierre, speaking on behalf of the National Rifle Association, lamented the fact that "our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters" and recommended that armed security personnel protect every school in America.  Guns are good.  Good guys with guns are gooder.  Mentally ill people, the motion picture industry, violent video games, nasty music videos [There are still music videos?], the news media, and gun free school zones are bad.  Gun control is badder.  Could not be simpler.

So, is that it?  Do we plan then to always have a violence with guns problem?  Since we can't do anything this year or next, since we can't restrict firearms with without violating the Constitution or risking insurrection, does that mean we cannot take a long view toward change?  Will guns, gunfighters, and gun battles always be a part of American culture?  Shall we all forever fantasize about solving our problems with the application of violence, gunfire, and explosives?  Is the answer to every question: Bring a gun?  Will murder, suicide, accidental injury and death, and the occasional massacre, by people using firearms be one of the costs we must pay to preserve our right to bear arms, to possess the means of violent rebellion against a tyrannical government?

In her 80beats blog post at Discover, Breanna Draxler discusses the brief opinion piece published by JAMA: Curbing Gun Violence:Lessons from Public Health Successes.  It's not the first such article and not all of the ideas will work, but it's a discussion of a possible path. 

Has anyone here read "The Warriors" and "Madness Has Its Place" by Larry Niven, short stories in the "Man-Kzin Wars" military science fiction series?  Just asking..

Photo credit: http://www.theonion.com/articles/frustrated-wayne-lapierre-thought-murder-of-20-chi,30813/