Gun Violence in America: Its Causes, Solutions

What’s the underlying cause of all this gun violence?  How did the United States come to have more than one mass shooting per day (251 in the last 216 days of 2019 thus far)?

The truth is that no one knows, certainly not singing-songwriter Cheryl Wheeler, who penned the masterpiece below 22 years ago, well before this tragedy rose to the epidemic proportions of today.  “Maybe it’s the Bible, maybe it’s the lack. Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the crack.”

Before reading further (especially if you think the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution uniformly grants anyone the absolute right to own weapons of war with no intrusion of any kind), no one is coming for your guns. Yes, Australia did that in 1996 and hasn’t had a single mass shooting since, and certainly there are people here who would like to see the U.S. follow suit.  But
that’s not happening.

What is happening is common-sense gun laws, starting with universal background checks for prospective gun owners, a proposition favored by 91% of American voters. Exactly when it’s happening is anyone’s guess, but one has to think Americans will eventually force their “leaders” to put a limit on the stupidity and corruption, and the incredible torrent of carnage that’s flowing through our cities faster that the media can cover it.

Obviously, even in the presence of common-sense gun laws, we’re still fighting an uphill battle as long as we have a U.S. President who refers to would-be immigrants as an “invasion” and an “infestation,” inspiring the violent fringe of his base to gun them down; this is most certainly the theme of the latest round of these horrific events.

All that said, here is Cheryl Wheeler’s “If It Were Up To Me,” with video below.

Maybe it’s the movies, maybe it’s the books
Maybe it’s the bullets, maybe it’s the real crooks
Maybe it’s the drugs, maybe it’s the parents
Maybe it’s the colors everybody’s wearin
Maybe it’s the President, maybe it’s the last one
Maybe it’s the one before that, what he done
Maybe it’s the high schools, maybe it’s the teachers
Maybe it’s the tattooed children in the bleachers
Maybe it’s the Bible, maybe it’s the lack
Maybe it’s the music, maybe it’s the crack
Maybe it’s the hairdos, maybe it’s the TV
Maybe it’s the cigarettes, maybe it’s the family
Maybe it’s the fast food, maybe it’s the news
Maybe it’s divorce, maybe it’s abuse
Maybe it’s the lawyers, maybe it’s the prisons
Maybe it’s the Senators, maybe it’s the system
Maybe it’s the fathers, maybe it’s the sons
Maybe it’s the sisters, maybe it’s the moms
Maybe it’s the radio, maybe it’s road rage
Maybe El Nino, or UV rays
Maybe it’s the army, maybe it’s the liquor
Maybe it’s the papers, maybe the militia
Maybe it’s the athletes, maybe it’s the ads
Maybe it’s the sports fans, maybe it’s a fad
Maybe it’s the magazines, maybe it’s the internet
Maybe it’s the lottery, maybe it’s the immigrants
Maybe it’s taxes, big business
Maybe it’s the KKK and the skinheads
Maybe it’s the communists, maybe it’s the Catholics
Maybe it’s the hippies, maybe it’s the addicts
Maybe it’s the art, maybe it’s the sex
Maybe it’s the homeless, maybe it’s the banks
Maybe it’s the clearcut, maybe it’s the ozone
Maybe it’s the chemicals, maybe it’s the car phones
Maybe it’s the fertilizer, maybe it’s the nose rings
Maybe it’s the end, but I know one thing.
If it were up to me, I’d take away the guns.