Guns don't kill people - trigger fingers do

We've all heard that saying "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Well, yes, but what if there were not easy access to guns, of all sorts, not just assault weapons. (And really, can any gun not be considered an assault weapon?) 

Here's a simple way to stop the madness, short of banning (or making it really hard) individuals from owning guns.

Cut off the trigger fingers of all males at birth. That's right.  No trigger finger, no gun killing.  Simple?  Why only males you ask? Well, who commits most of the gun violence in this country?  Males.  Anger. Testosterone. Whatever, it's much more concentrated in the male of the species.  So we'll start there.

What about the need for soldiers?  What about police officers, and even hunters?  And of course, people being adaptable, wouldn't they just learn to use another finger, and haven't people been known to shoot with their toes? 

All right, you have a point. But how about this.  In the UK, where hand gun ownership was strictly regulated in the 90's, not a single mass killing of the type we saw this week at the school in Connecticut has happened. And Australia. They have similar laws with similar results.  There must be something to it.

So isn't it likely that there is some, call me irrational, correlation between the easy procurement of mass killing weapons and their use for mass killing?

And yes, I was disappointed that Obama did not utter those words, so loathed by the NRA, "Gun Control."

Oh I listen to the talk shows. I hear the people who call in saying the answer to gun violence is more guns. Why if those teachers had been armed, they could have taken care of the problem with  minimal death and carnage.

And of course I am familiar with the old saw "If we outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns."  Well, that just doesn't cut it anymore.  We outlaw drunk driving don't we?  We outlaw meth production.  Yes, those things still go on.  And prohibition is not the sole answer. Clearly, there are too many angry, disaffected people out there.  We do need more mental health options, better schools, jobs,  maybe even a national program for restorative justice, instead of our obsession with retribution and revenge. 

We live in a culture of hate and violence.  It's on our TV's, including the nightly news.  We spend more on wars than on growing a healthy society. We live in fear.  Radio personalities tell us to fear our government. Paranoia is a national pastime.  

We have congresspeople trembling before the alter of the National Rifle Association. 

As I watched one of my favorite all time classic feel good All American holiday movies, A Christmas Story, last night, I couldn't help but cringe that the plot of that whole show revolved around one little boy's desire for a bb gun.