First, an interesting international comparison:
According to Germany's Der Spiegel, German police shot only 85 bullets in all of 2011, a stark reminder that not every country is as gun-crazy as the U.S. of A. As Boing Boing translates, most of those shots weren't even aimed anyone: "49 warning shots, 36 shots on suspects. 15 persons were injured, 6 were killed."
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Meanwhile, in the U.S., where the population is little less than four times the size of Germany's, well, we can get to 85 in just one sitting, thank you very much. 84 shots fired at one murder suspect in Harlem, another 90 shot at one fleeing unarmed man in Los Angeles. And that was just April. So we bring you Germany's shot total in case you forgot about America shoots itself in the foot with its manic love of guns.
This tells us that the US could manage to have fewer gun deaths. One minor way of getting towards that goal: Groceries for guns buyback.
The anonymous buyback program allowed weapons to be turned in with no questions asked. Handguns, rifles and shotguns could be exchanged for $100 Ralphs grocery store gift cards. Assault weapons earned a $200 card.When it comes to gun debates we far too often let the perfect be the enemy of the good: If we can't get all guns away from society, let's not even try. But fewer guns is better.
To remind us of that fact: children in this country are killed by guns much more often than in just school massacres.
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