Guns make us all less safe

We should react to mass shootings not with fear but with rationality. Tragically, common reactions are “arm the teachers and rabbis” or “it’s mental health.” These responses are bogus. Guns don’t give the average person protection. Instead, guns make us less safe. Mental health and video games don’t explain our epidemic of gun deaths — just look at Canada, with a very similar culture but with only one- sixth our gun death rate.

The United States has by far the highest gun death rate of any advanced country, and the main reason is that we have too many guns. Although mass shootings get all the press, they constitute only about 2% of U. S. gun deaths, while suicides make up 60%. No surprise: Keeping an excellent killing tool raises your risk of death.

If one reacts to a mass shooting by getting a gun for “self protection,” statistically the person has just increased the risk of suicide for people in his or her household. Guns as self- protection is a myth promoted by the gun lobby to sell more guns. ( Of course, guns make sense in some situations, for safety- conscious hunters or for people who need to fend off grizzly bears.)

To address our epidemic of gun deaths, we need federal gun violence research, red- flag laws, gun licensing and registration, universal background checks, waiting periods, safety training, gun taxes and a repeal of the Second Amendment. When we’ve reached a consensus that guns make us less safe, we can save many lives.

PAUL HECKBERT

Edgewood