So: today I heard a report from a BBC podcast (around 18:12 into the podcast) that ammunition is in short supply in the US, because manufacturers can't keep up with demand from people stocking up now, before big bad Obama, Pelosi, and Feinstein take away the guns.
Today I also read Katha Pollitt's column in The Nation, "Unnatural Born Killer," wherein she cites 2006 statistics that "30,896 people died from gun violence . . . and 14,678 were injured," numbers that stunned me.
But firearm bans have proven to be a lightning rod. Perhaps we can come up with new ways to get a handle on the issue? Open up new fronts? The ammo shortage might be just the sort of entry we need.
Remember that Chris Rock standup routine about gun control?
You don't need no gun control. You know what you need? We need some bullet control. Man, we need to control the bullets, that's right.
l think all bullets should cost $5000.
$5000 for a bullet. You know why? 'Cause if a bullet costs $5000 there'd be no more innocent bystanders. That'd be it.
Every time someone gets shot, people will be like, ''Damn, he must have did something. Shit, they put $5000 worth of bullets in his ass.''
People would think before they killed somebody, if a bullet cost $5000.
''Man, l would blow your fucking head off, if l could afford it."
A tax on licenses, guns, and bullets would be a start. And I'm not just talking a sales tax. I'm talking property tax. In Missouri, I had to pay yearly property taxes on my cars. While I've always wanted to live where walking and public transit are viable options (and now, thankfully, do), I remember that the first time I paid property taxes on my cars really lit the fire under me to want to change the way I live. I'd like to hear from people with brains bigger than mine, people who've put more thought into this than I have: might taxes like this work to reduce gun violence?
I'd love to see special taxes and tracking requirements on manufacturers that would therefore be reflected in the price and availability of products.
And I'd like to see licensing become as expensive and time-consuming as obtaining a driver's license: classes, examinations, renewals.
My grandfather was a hunter and augmented his meagre retirement income by eating venison. I've got nothing against hunting: most of the hunters I know are fanatics about gun safety. But I'm very willing to sacrifice their sport, pleasure and livelihoods to reduce gun violence, if that's what it will take. Lay into me, if you will. But let's be productive in our discussion: what are other ways we can we reduce gun violence in our country?