Friday, August 9, 2019

More Tragedies

I know it has been a while since I written a blog post. I decided that I would not use this blog to just "vent my spleen" or grouse about the current state of politics, climate change, the environment, social justice, and the other issues I have attempted to address. I had originally intended this blog as a means to propose changes, either for individuals or groups to consider for improving or resolving a given situation.

The recent tragedies in El Paso, Texas and in nearby Dayton, Ohio are a painful reminder of just how dangerous life has become in the United States. There have been over 200 mass shootings in our country in 2019 thus far. Unfortunately, most experts anticipate more to follow.

As painful as these tragic losses are, the certainty that almost nothing will change to try to prevent future tragedies from occurring is almost as painful. Unfortunately, nothing except the usual rhetoric will likely emerge from Washington D.C., politicians have already made their "thoughts and prayers" known, and a weary population begins to accept mass shootings as the "new normal."

However, as I mentioned, I hate using this blog just to repeat my own personal talking points. I don't write these posts to get the majority of my friends nodding their heads in agreement and a few of them skeptical or even hostile. On a previous Facebook post where I espoused stricter gun control, I did have an interesting and thought provoking discussion with a friend who disagreed with me. I also had a few "friends" tell me to "go play in traffic" and to "just shut the f&%k up." Believe it or not, I am not trying to renew this debate. I am asking if another potential course of action is feasible.

During the ongoing opioid epidemic, many lawsuits were filed against Big Pharma. The article Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic? - The Atlantic, Jun 2, 2017 describes just one of many examples of lawsuits filed against Big Pharma. "Some attorneys general and advocates are now asking in court whether the pharmaceutical companies who marketed the drugs and downplayed their addictive nature can be held legally responsible for—and made to pay for the consequences of—the crisis." (The Atlantic, 6/2/17).

Can similar lawsuits be filed against the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers? They too have profited by selling a potentially deadly product to an extent that many believe to be extreme. 

I am not pretending I know the answer (I don't) and I suspect Second Amendment advocates will want chime in (if any of them actually read my blog). However, I offer the following caveats: 1) I am NOT advocating taking any individual's gun(s) away by simply asking this question; 2) I don't believe that the Second Amendment gives gun owners immunity from Government regulation - Just like free speech (a First Amendment right) is and continues to be regulated (hate speech prohibition, yelling fire in a crowded theater...) the right to "keep and bear" fire arms CAN be regulated. If you actually read the second amendment, the word REGULATED does appear, though the word OWN does not; & 3) I acknowledge the cost of such a lawsuit would be astronomical. 

Perhaps, rather than debate this issue on Facebook (which would be fairly useless) we should ask one of the State Attorneys General who filed a lawsuit against Big Pharma: "... Ohio’s Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a handful of pharmaceutical companies..." (The Atlantic, 6/2/17). So, Governor DeWine, what do you think?

I do understand that these are frightening and polarizing times. We are all losing many of the very rights the gun lobby and the NRA claim to be protecting. However, most Americans agree that something must to be done to help prevent these senseless acts of domestic terrorism. Before anybody starts arguing for or against another individual's views or opinions, I suggest we take the words of big game hunter and gun owner Theodore Roosevelt to heart.

If we wait until the perfect solution prevents itself, we will continue doing the worst thing -- nothing.


-- Food for thought.