Gun Deaths, Activists and Executive Orders

I like facts more than opinion, but facts are stubborn things that don’t fit easily into preassigned molds. 

Out of every 100,000 black men in this country 34 will be killed by guns in 2016; just half that many, 17 white men, will die the same way. 

If you are a young adult (age 20-29) the numbers are even more dramatic.   Humans of that age have incomplete brain development.  They have limited ability to project consequences and are governed by hormones more than logic.  That shows in their bad choices and emotional volatility.  From 2011-2013 ninety young black men per 100,000 population died by gunshot compared to just 20 white young adults.

The cause of these gun deaths also shows an instructive difference.  The vast majority of white gun deaths (77%) are suicides and only 19% are homicide.  In the black population the numbers are flipped: 14% suicide and 82% homicide.  The much publicized shooting of blacks by police account for about 2% of the black gun deaths which is almost the same as for white’s shot by police.

This is much more an issue of affluence and culture than color and guns.  In 1978 poor blacks and affluent blacks were almost equally as likely to be the victims of violent crime (45 and 38 per 1000, respectively).  But what happens when we fold in almost 40 years of social and legal evolution?  By 2008 poor blacks suffer 75 incidents of gun violence per 1000 but affluent blacks have actually become safer than they were in 1978 with 23 incidents per 1000!

People trying to make political purchase with the proliferation of gun violence or the Black Lives Matter movement are loathe to address these irresistible facts for two reasons: to admit the complicity of the black community in its own extraordinary death rates might distract from their targeted narrative of police policies toward blacks and it provides ammunition to those who resist criminal justice reform.  These are legitimate concerns, but ignoring (or worse still denying) the facts doesn’t solve any problem and makes social activists obvious hypocrites. 

I am ready to talk about police responsibility toward the black community.  I am ready to talk about how to prevent the possession of guns by people who do not deserve to have them.  Anything as serious as gun ownership deserves to be—must be—regulated.  But I do not believe that the Black Lives Matter politicians are ready to have a serious discussion about gun control.  I do not believe our President is ready to have that discussion either.  If he did, he would have multiple meetings—long, focused, and committed to resolution—with the leaders of Congress (Republicans and Democrats) about what laws must be passed.  This President talks to union leaders, athletes, and Hollywood activists.  Why doesn’t he talk to the NRA about what they believe responsible gun ownership looks like?

For example, how about a law that any crime committed with a gun is a life sentence—non-negotiable and not subject to probation?   How about a photo and date stamped I.D. (similar to a hunting license) that must be shown by anyone buying any gun from any seller, private or commercial, that says that person is a righteous gun buyer?  The fact is, if you are not an anarchist you want to live in a land of laws.  Laws are enforceable documents passed by legislators, not demands made by protestors and not Executive actions made by ineffective Presidents. 

Look at the numbers, clean your house and keep the faith.