America CAN Reduce Gun Violence (w/Garen Wintemute)

Utterly Moderate Podcast

Another massacre in America.

It feels like we are living in a nightmare—and we should refuse to become numb to it. Instead, we should use our anger and sorrow and demand that our leaders do the things that most Americans support to stop the carnage.

I include links to some *extremely* graphic images of Emmett Till’s corpse as well as the corpses of the recent mass shooting victims in Allen, Texas below. If you believe that you will not be able to handle seeing these images, I strongly urge you not to click on them.

These images are not included to sensationalize the topic or to disrespect the deceased. They are included here because I do not believe that America can grapple with the problem of gun violence without viewing and truly confronting the devastation that it causes.

In 1955, Emmett Till—an African American teen—was kidnapped and brutally murdered by White racists.

His mother, Mamie, insisted on an open casket funeral, forcing the world to see the consequences of racism in America.

Photographs of Till’s mutilated corpse were circulated around the country by Jet Magazine and The Chicago Defender and generated intense public reaction, contributing to progress in the Civil Rights Movement.

You can click here to see them.

I have no idea whether being confronted with the very graphic images of mass shootings in America will rouse the kind of reaction that might lead to meaningful change in the same way that Till’s helped further the Civil Rights Movement.

But I believe we owe it to our children to try: You can click here to see them.

It is not radical to say that, nationwide, we should:

• Ban assault rifles and high-capacity magazines

• Enact a 30-day waiting period for all gun sales

• Enact red flag laws

• Enact better and uniform background checks

• Raise the legal age at which people can purchase firearms

• Improve our mental health system

I know this is not radical because a majority of Americans support everything on that list. You can read the Gallup surveys yourself.

There is consensus in America on what needs to be done. The problem is not with the citizens, but our leaders.

There is no excuse to wait any longer. Contact your elected representatives and demand a better world for our children.

The best research suggests we can make a serious dent in this problem if our leaders would only implement the reasonable preferences of a majority of Americans.

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Episode Music:

• “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar (Free Music Archive)
• “Star Blessed Night” by Ketsa (Free Music Archive)
• “Draw the Sky” by Paul Keane (licensed through TakeTones)
• "Hibernation" by Ibi (publicly available on YouTube)
• “Happy Trails (To You)” by the Riders in the Sky (used with artist’s permission)

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