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Op-ed Title:

Gun violence in America 

“We should have listened to Tracy”

  Please bare with me as I explain my quoted title above with some background information about myself and my reason for that title.

  I have been a music lover my whole life.  I have often found myself totally lost in the ‘story’ of a song and personally moved by a songwriter’s lyrics.  Time and history has taught me, I am not alone being personally and emotionally moved by song.  This brings me to my point.

  We all should have listened to Tracy Chapman. 

Thirty-two years ago in 1992, this brilliant songwriter crafted a song about gun violence and poverty, titled “Bang, Bang, Bang”.  I encourage readers to explore this song for it’s content along with it’s relevance today.  Although this song has been analyzed previously due to it’s strong commentary about poverty, drugs, and gun violence, one key takeaway should be the song’s continued relevance today, THIRTY-TWO years after the song’s release.

  The facts are almost undisputed, gun violence IS an UNITED STATES OF AMERICA problem.  

With the exception of what some call ‘Third world nations’, the United States leads the free world in gun violence as opposed to being a leader in prevention of this violence.   

  America’s love affair with guns is long and historic and I understand this. However comma (and yes I did that on purpose) please allow me to provide more context from my point of view.

  I have had, at the pleasure and service to my government, served twenty-two (22) years active duty for our country.  I have personally deployed to forty-two (42) different locations in sixteen (16) different countries and have NEVER observed a gun shop/store nor any guns for sale ANYWHERE except locations in the United States of America.  Almost all overseas locations I observed have knives in abundance, but not guns for sale (not openly anyway).

I’m sure an enthusiast can go overseas anywhere and find weapons to purchase, but the U.S.A. is king when it comes to firearms availability.

  To clarify my position, I am not anti-gun.  I have legally owned guns for home protection.  However, I do sincerely believe that there needs to be a paradigm shift domestically.  I don’t know the answer, but something needs to change.  Not everyone should be allowed to purchase a weapon on any given day, nor should they be allowed to own ridiculous amounts of firearms.

Conversely, there are some people who, on any given day, should never be allowed near any weapons, let alone firearms.

Ms. Chapman’s song was released two years before the ‘Assault weapons ban of 1994’. I have been saying for years that civilians do not need access to assault weapons.  However comma (again) according to the FBI, via Pewresearch.org, fifty-nine percent (59%) of 2020 gun murders and non-negligent manslaughters (their words, not mine) are from handguns, with three percent (3%) from rifles or ‘assault style ‘ weapons.  

I’m not here to republish facts related to gun violence, those details have been reported to the point of exhaustion, this is an opinion piece.

Access, not guns themselves, are THE problem.

I’m sure the pro-gun folks will find some way to be outraged at my statements.  To be blunt, when I was in the military, I used the phrase “shut your pie hole”, often.  I honestly believe most people need to shut their mouth (keyboard/smartphone) unless they have lost someone to gun violence.  

It has been thirty-five (35) years since my brother took a bullet to the chest just because some kid only seventeen (17) years of age wanted to be initiated into a street gang in Chicago.

As I just stated, this is an opinion piece and I stand firm in my belief of the following three statements:

 Unrestricted access to ALL types of firearms is an American only phenomenon.

 Unless things change, the killings WILL continue!

 We all should have listened to Tracy!

Very respectfully,

Robert Schaeppi 

(a retired Navy veteran)