{"id":3887,"date":"2022-01-25T17:01:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-25T17:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/?p=3887"},"modified":"2023-09-22T19:48:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T19:48:34","slug":"with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/","title":{"rendered":"With better gun laws, fewer people die."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A brain teaser book I pull out at small gatherings has a question that asks, \u201cIf you could invent something that would be good for humanity overall, but also kill hundreds of thousands of people over time, would you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inevitably, my guests turn to talk of cars and motorcycles but no one ever mentions guns which, unlike cars, were made for the explicit purpose of killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve written before about my personal connection to gun violence<\/a> but only once in decades because that\u2019s the only time I could bear to wade into how gun violence has shaped me as a person. Those waters are deep and murky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet in recent years it happened again and again and again when a close friend and two acquaintances died by suicide. I feel like a mound of bread dough getting punched over and over, deflated. I know I am not alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with guns is not that you can own one, it\u2019s that they are easier to get than mental health care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another problem with guns \u2013 and oh, there are so many \u2013 is that some people tend to think of gun violence as something that happens \u201cover there.\u201d These are people who, either by privilege or luck, have managed to avoid the aftershocks of gun violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet gun deaths keep happening, like a time bomb in reverse, as the numbers inch up each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like we are trapped in some sort of warped Dr. Seuss book where it\u2019s only the \u201cSneetches over thar\u201d that are affected by gun violence. \u201cWe Sneetches,\u201d we smugly think to ourselves, \u201care immune.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While federal laws help prevent gun violence nationwide the federal system is much too weak overall \u2014 for example, failing to require background checks on all gun sales and giving special legal immunity to the gun industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabama policymakers should protect our citizens by filling the many gaps in federal law. Alabama citizens should vote for policymakers who care about protecting our families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, a nonprofit that focuses on preventing gun violence, unveiled a new tool and website<\/a> last week that shows the direct correlation between a state\u2019s gun laws and the state\u2019s rate of gun deaths. The tool shows that Alabama <\/strong>has the 4th highest rate of gun deaths in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alabama is listed as a \u201cweak system\u201d on the Everytown ranking. At least, as that oft-repeated refrain goes, we\u2019re not a \u201cnational failure,\u201d like Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Alabama in an average year 1,090 people die by guns with a rate of 22.4 deaths per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you say, \u201cThat won\u2019t happen to me or my family,\u201d remember that gun deaths by suicide outrank other causes at 59%. The U.S. gun suicide rate is 10 times higher than that of other high income countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one you know will commit suicide? I said that too. And then they did. No one ever says, \u201cI knew he\/she\/they would commit suicide.\u201d Never.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new analysis<\/a> shows that states with strong gun safety policies, such as background checks on all gun sales and extreme risk laws, have lower rates of gun violence while states with weaker gun laws (ahem, Alabama) have higher rates of gun violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When gun policies across the country are compared \u2013 looking at scores from every state on the strength of each gun law and comparing it with its rate of gun violence \u2013 in states where elected officials have taken action to pass gun safety laws, fewer people die by gun violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With better laws, fewer people die. It\u2019s that simple. Wake up, Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In cases of gun violence the problems are many and the answers are difficult to find, yet plenty of people smarter than me make a living figuring out how we can fix things. Alabama lawmakers need to listen to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red State? Blue state? It doesn\u2019t matter. Alabama is in a horrible state. Gun violence is not inherently political. It\u2019s about the human suffering of our fellow Alabamians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t think gun violence will influence you in your lifetime? In Alabama, it\u2019s more likely to than in 46 other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet home, Alabama? Lord. It\u2019s coming home to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you or someone you know is suffering from suicidal ideation, call the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-If you or someone you know is suffering from suicidal ideation, call the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or contact the <\/em>Alabama Suicide Prevention and Resources Coalition<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A brain teaser book I pull out at small gatherings has a question that asks, \u201cIf you could invent something that would be good for humanity overall, but also kill hundreds of thousands of people over time, would you?\u201d Inevitably, my guests turn to talk of cars and motorcycles but no one ever mentions guns…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[213],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinions"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWith better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"With better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A brain teaser book I pull out at small gatherings has a question that asks, \u201cIf you could invent something that would be good for humanity overall, but also kill hundreds of thousands of people over time, would you?\u201d Inevitably, my guests turn to talk of cars and motorcycles but no one ever mentions guns...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/guns-seized-by-tobacco-firearms-office.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meredith Cummings\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meredith Cummings\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Meredith Cummings\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/cc84a987307e760efc0356fc734db46a\"},\"headline\":\"With better gun laws, fewer people die.\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\"},\"wordCount\":763,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Opinions\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\",\"name\":\"With better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"With better gun laws, fewer people die.\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/\",\"name\":\"Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director\",\"description\":\"Meredith is a teaching assistant professor and freelance multimedia journalist based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1\",\"name\":\"Camilla Monk\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mini-logo-delaney-diamond.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mini-logo-delaney-diamond.png\",\"width\":1053,\"height\":618,\"caption\":\"Camilla Monk\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/cc84a987307e760efc0356fc734db46a\",\"name\":\"Meredith Cummings\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/219428fe02ea7ef3ff30008538b75508119300baeacb9b580d40ab8ed10fd435?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/219428fe02ea7ef3ff30008538b75508119300baeacb9b580d40ab8ed10fd435?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Meredith Cummings\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/author\/mcummings\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"With better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"With better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director","og_description":"A brain teaser book I pull out at small gatherings has a question that asks, \u201cIf you could invent something that would be good for humanity overall, but also kill hundreds of thousands of people over time, would you?\u201d Inevitably, my guests turn to talk of cars and motorcycles but no one ever mentions guns...","og_url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/","og_site_name":"Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director","article_published_time":"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/guns-seized-by-tobacco-firearms-office.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Meredith Cummings","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Meredith Cummings","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/"},"author":{"name":"Meredith Cummings","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/cc84a987307e760efc0356fc734db46a"},"headline":"With better gun laws, fewer people die.","datePublished":"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/"},"wordCount":763,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1"},"articleSection":["Opinions"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/","url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/","name":"With better gun laws, fewer people die. » Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-01-25T17:01:00+00:00","dateModified":"2023-09-22T19:48:34+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/2022\/01\/25\/with-better-gun-laws-fewer-people-die\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"With better gun laws, fewer people die."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#website","url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/","name":"Meredith Cummings: Journalist, Educator, Nonprofit Director","description":"Meredith is a teaching assistant professor and freelance multimedia journalist based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/5adc1896cd153cec3ea1fcbf3baf70c1","name":"Camilla Monk","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mini-logo-delaney-diamond.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/mini-logo-delaney-diamond.png","width":1053,"height":618,"caption":"Camilla Monk"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/cc84a987307e760efc0356fc734db46a","name":"Meredith Cummings","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/219428fe02ea7ef3ff30008538b75508119300baeacb9b580d40ab8ed10fd435?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/219428fe02ea7ef3ff30008538b75508119300baeacb9b580d40ab8ed10fd435?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Meredith Cummings"},"url":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/author\/mcummings\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yayserver.com\/meredithcummings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}