I will give you one word why our Government is incapable of doing anything to protect us from guns.
Cigarettes.
There is no Constitutional amendment protecting one's right to light up.
There is not ONE positive reason for someone to smoke.
There are many laws and regulations regarding the use of cigarettes.
The American public is less accepting of smoking than it is of firearm possession.
All of this yet follow me over the squighle for the results.
From the CDC:
Cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the United States each year.
Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the following:
More than 480,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
278,544 deaths annually among men (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
201,773 deaths annually among women (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
Secondhand Smoke and Death
Exposure to secondhand smoke causes an estimated 41,000 deaths each year among adults in the United States:
Secondhand smoke causes 7,333 annual deaths from lung cancer.
Secondhand smoke causes 33,951 annual deaths from heart disease.
Cost of Smoking-Related Illness
Smoking-related illness in the United States costs more than $300 billion each year, including:
Nearly $170 billion for direct medical care for adults
More than $156 billion in lost productivity, including $5.6 billion in lost productivity due to secondhand smoke exposure.
The CDC also lists annual gun deaths at 31,672 persons (all deaths including suicide which account for more than half of the annual gun deaths).
One more fact is according to the ATF, the Federal Government will generate about 23 billion dollars in revenue from the tax on cigarettes. States and cities will collect even more.
So we have a product that has zero positive benefits. This product has a good track record of death. Not a quick death but a long, slow agonizing death. Cancer, emphysema, COPD and heart disease.
Ever watch someone die from cancer? It's not pretty. It robs the person of their assets from the cost of medical care and takes a huge toll on family members, friends and caregivers. Spend five minutes with someone suffering from lung cancer or emphysema, see how they struggle for each breath and then share with me the romantic stories of smoking.
By the way, second hand smoke kills more people each year than guns.
So am I advocating for the NRA? Hell no. There should be universal background checks. There should be stop gaps to prevent mentally ill people from legally posssesing guns. Maybe it will get there but don't expect it from our Government. A Government that allows and profits from the sale of a deadly product with absolutely no positive attributes.
When it comes to cold blooded killers, a cigarette is more dangerous than any gun. Do the math - cigarettes kill over 15 times more people per year than guns do.
Those are the facts.