While Beto O’Rourke has continued to assert that Washington needs to shred the Second Amendment to save lives, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg reminded the public that the overwhelming majority of gun deaths comes not from terrorists or even murders. They’re from suicides.
Of the nearly 40,000 gun deaths in 2017, more than half were suicides, and fewer than 15,000 were homicides. Of those homicides, the overwhelming majority involve domestic violence. This statistical reality doesn’t make either those suicides or homicides any less abhorrent, but it does emphasize the need for politicians to address the underlying problems killing the country rather than the handful of mass shootings that affect a fraction of a percent of the nation.
Even more galling in light of Beto’s demands that we forcibly seize AR-15s, the most popular gun in the country, from our fellow countrymen is the simple fact that despite shotguns and rifles comprising more of American gun ownership than handguns, the latter are responsible for the bulk of gun deaths.
The public supports red flag laws that could target murders including domestic abusers. People do not support bans on handguns. Fewer than one one-hundredth are responsible for gun deaths. Such measures may not be as sexy in a primary campaign as profanity-laden boasts, but focusing on deaths of despair shows Buttigieg’s seriousness of his candidacy.
Kudos to Mayor Pete.
