Gun Control is Futile! …according to The Clash

Gun Control is Futile! …according to The Clash

The Clash had gun control pretty well summed up back in 1977; recent gun death statistics and NRA funding figures proves the Brits wise with their old adage "Police & Thieves":

"Police and thieves in the streets…Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition...From genesis to revelation...And all the crowd comes in, day by day, No one stop it in anyway. All the peacemaker, turn war officer, Hear what I say" 

(further remarks below the video)

There is a chilling resonance with the 2012 Trayvon Martin shooting in the lyrics "all the peacemaker, turn war officer". However, my deeper appreciation for these words and The Clash's insight developed after NPR's May 2nd edition of To the Point. This particular segment begins 24 minutes into the show with a variety of contributors in the discussion: Lois Beckett (ProPublica), Mark Rosenberg (Task Force for Global Health), Philip Watson (Second Amendment Foundation), and Cliff Schecter (Libertas). At one moment, this broadcast becomes very contentious; however, the rest of the segment brings up fascinating discourse that will encourage your opinions to evolve throughout the conversation. I found the discussion compelling, gritty, and eye-opening to the array of factors in this complex debate. 

The summary for this gun control segment is detailed below:
"In the 1980's, gun violence was declared a public health issue, but Congress blocked research into prevention by the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. In 2012, after the Sandy Hook massacre, President Obama proposed to resume that effort, and some Republicans agreed. What's happened since? 

Since the first of this year 5,823 people have been injured by guns and 3,479 have been killed. That's according to the Gun Violence Archive. Is there an "epidemic?" Could efforts to stop it stop short of gun control?"

Gun violence and accessibility to weapons goes beyond safe storage and gun practices, as the right to bear arms exacerbates the pre-existing condition of mental health in our nation. However, both mental health and gun violence protection would be exceptional tandem efforts to improve our society. 

"Incremental change yields exponential results."