When I was a little boy, my mother and father told me to never talk to strangers. Never. Of course, we had the other talk about how babies are made, but I already knew that secret before they told me.
By the time I became a parent, the faces of children began appearing on milk cartons making "stranger danger" breakfast conversation.
What I don't understand is how our older son and his wife will explain school lockdown drills to their young children. Our 3-year-old granddaughter will begin school in about ten days. She's so tiny and innocent and I'm not looking forward to hearing her questions about gun violence. We talk about safety all the time in terms of boo-boos that can really hurt you. But not bullets and gunshot wounds.
Although we've discussed bad people who hurt others, we've never talked about armed attackers. I'm sure there will be a fire drill at school. She understands hot and cold and getting a burn at the stove. We've even talked a little about life and death when she spotted a dead robin on the sidewalk. But not the idea that someone can come into a theater, church, or preschool and savagely shatter lives by slaughtering people, including tiny children. I can't imagine telling her "Your teacher has a gun in case someone comes into the classroom and tries to shoot you and your classmates."
The thought reminds me there are children dodging bullets and bombs in war zones around the world, and parents who seek refuge for their families in other countries.
So, is it time to have that talk with a toddler ... or is it time to change our conversation about gun violence in America?
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Taste and see.
Today, while driving through an unfamiliar suburban neighborhood near Chicago, I saw peace.
A young girl, perhaps 11 years old, rode her bike, smiling broadly, her hijab furling in the wind. On the next block, an enormous star of David stretched across the brick facade of a synagogue. We had just enjoyed lunch at a Lebanese restaurant, prepared by a chef from Baghdad, who had learned from European chefs while living in Amsterdam. A Syrian Christian woman waited on us, while a 17-year-old South American guy swept the floor. People of all colors from many nations filled this spotless eatery, savoring the flavors, aromas and atmosphere.
A car salesman, the grandson of a Palestinian refugee, suggested the lunch place. He told me he could trace his ancestry to an ancient, tiny village near the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Some of his extended family, who are Muslim, still live there. His boss, a friendly Catholic, explained the rosary tattooed artistically around his forearm. He asked me about the Jerusalem cross on my ring. I told him about my Jewish friend who located a craftsman to engrave it. This jeweler chose a Muslim surgeon to perform a very delicate procedure on his back.
Despite the turmoil, tension and tragedy that fills the 24-hour-news cycle, ordinary people with powerful differences, enjoy swapping stories and celebrating the things they share every day.
It's a beautiful thing to experience peace in action. Thousands of years ago, the psalmist, David, sang it this way, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:9). On this day, it genuinely felt like God was among these people, alive and joyful nourishing their serenity. Food never tasted this good.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Counting The Children
The typewriter sat like a lonely sentry under the window to nowhere with a single page of newsprint on the roll. That day, there was one name with age and address typed across the paper. It was the basic identification of the latest recorded homicide victim in the "Murder City." Detroit had earned that title in the 1970's and early 1980's by leading the nation in reported annual murders.
It was 1977, and I was in the press room at Detroit Police Headquarters, 1300 Beaubien Street back in the day. This was my junior year as an electronic journalism student at Wayne State University. Public Affairs Reporting put me in the cop house for three weeks, the city county building for three more and the courts for the balance. I covered colorful debates at Detroit's legendary city council, murder trials where defendants stared down witnesses, and I wrote a feature piece on a remarkably talented police artist who recreated the faces of suspects. Our assignment was to turn in several stories each week for the entire term. The best lessons were learned on the beat.
And if you were in the press room at police headquarters, even if you were just a student, you were expected to type and record the identity of any victim, when public information officer, Sargent Fred Williams, hustled in with the info. The local reporters were sharing duty of tallying the list of the dead, to accurately tabulate a total.
This week, I heard from two relatives who live in Detroit asking me about the insane spike in shootings in Chicago, where last week 66 people were shot and 12 killed. My wife and I live in the Windy City now. So do our two sons, our daughter-in-law who is expecting, and our darling granddaughter. Chicago had 750 murders in 2016 and is awaiting official FBI totals from 2017. Truth is, Baltimore and Detroit are still considered statistically more murderous, despite lower totals, because their populations are smaller. They report more murders per 100,000 than Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Houston and New York City. But when 66 people are shot in a week, a city instantly jumps to the front of the headlines.
Why are we so violent, with so many more gun killings than other industrialized nations? That would take too many chapters and interviews to answer journalistically. But I can scratch the surface on something just as important: the impact this kind of violence has on the next generation.
I met a man recently who mentors in one of the most violent communities in the nation, on Chicago's South Side. He grew up in the neighborhood where he now serves. He inspires me because he hasn't forgotten his community, now that his life is better. And he said something that has been haunting me.
Imagine for a moment you are a child. You're in middle school or high school. You see five or six kids murdered in your community each year. If you lived in the suburbs, you'd receive special counseling if just one kid were shot in your neighborhood. But not in this one. You grow up wondering if you'll make it to see your thirtieth birthday.
These at-risk kids don't choose to live where they do. And their mentor is doing his best to guide them through the maze of jeopardy. What can we do to help?
Jesus said: "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them: for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)
While we're counting the number of lives lost to violence, we need to include those who live on, wounded by the trauma. Heaven knows we need to save them, no matter where they live.
It was 1977, and I was in the press room at Detroit Police Headquarters, 1300 Beaubien Street back in the day. This was my junior year as an electronic journalism student at Wayne State University. Public Affairs Reporting put me in the cop house for three weeks, the city county building for three more and the courts for the balance. I covered colorful debates at Detroit's legendary city council, murder trials where defendants stared down witnesses, and I wrote a feature piece on a remarkably talented police artist who recreated the faces of suspects. Our assignment was to turn in several stories each week for the entire term. The best lessons were learned on the beat.
And if you were in the press room at police headquarters, even if you were just a student, you were expected to type and record the identity of any victim, when public information officer, Sargent Fred Williams, hustled in with the info. The local reporters were sharing duty of tallying the list of the dead, to accurately tabulate a total.
This week, I heard from two relatives who live in Detroit asking me about the insane spike in shootings in Chicago, where last week 66 people were shot and 12 killed. My wife and I live in the Windy City now. So do our two sons, our daughter-in-law who is expecting, and our darling granddaughter. Chicago had 750 murders in 2016 and is awaiting official FBI totals from 2017. Truth is, Baltimore and Detroit are still considered statistically more murderous, despite lower totals, because their populations are smaller. They report more murders per 100,000 than Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Houston and New York City. But when 66 people are shot in a week, a city instantly jumps to the front of the headlines.
Why are we so violent, with so many more gun killings than other industrialized nations? That would take too many chapters and interviews to answer journalistically. But I can scratch the surface on something just as important: the impact this kind of violence has on the next generation.
I met a man recently who mentors in one of the most violent communities in the nation, on Chicago's South Side. He grew up in the neighborhood where he now serves. He inspires me because he hasn't forgotten his community, now that his life is better. And he said something that has been haunting me.
Imagine for a moment you are a child. You're in middle school or high school. You see five or six kids murdered in your community each year. If you lived in the suburbs, you'd receive special counseling if just one kid were shot in your neighborhood. But not in this one. You grow up wondering if you'll make it to see your thirtieth birthday.
These at-risk kids don't choose to live where they do. And their mentor is doing his best to guide them through the maze of jeopardy. What can we do to help?
Jesus said: "Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them: for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Matthew 19:14)
While we're counting the number of lives lost to violence, we need to include those who live on, wounded by the trauma. Heaven knows we need to save them, no matter where they live.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Good hands.
I told you so.
Since the Parkland High School shooting, I've been dedicating this weekly blog to unraveling the truth in America's gun debate. In that pursuit, I've published a few posts on the grease that lubricates all business, the cost of risk-taking, more commonly called liability insurance. For months now, I've predicted it would be underwriters who would turn the tide in this national debate.
It's happening.
You can't buy a car or mortgage a home without insurance. Nor can you rationally operate a business without liability coverage. Right now, media reports say the National Rifle Association (NRA) can't get coverage because the state of New York is pressuring insurers to deny it to the NRA. Lenders are also listening to New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and his campaign to hobble the NRA by cutting off its liquidity. In fact, the NRA has sighted these issues in a suit against the state of New York. Some are reporting the organization may declare bankruptcy due to these pressures.
So, I believe it's no coincidence that the gun rights group took a shocking stand this week. It is arguing against the position of a Florida shooter in an incident involving that state's "stand your ground" law. There's pressure building on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident and Florida legislators are discussing revising the law. All because a man licensed to carry a concealed weapon recently shot and killed another man who had pushed him to the ground in a convenience store parking lot. I shared this event last week. Video from security cameras shows the pushy shopper was actually protecting his girlfriend from the aggressive guy who had approached her vehicle and started an argument over a handicapped parking spot. The sheriff ruled that according to Florida law, the gunman had a right to "stand his ground" when pushed. He then referred the case to the state's attorney to decide. But what about the man's right to protect his girlfriend and their young children in the family car? Did a shove from an unarmed man justify a fatal shot to his chest?
Who would ever imagine that the NRA would side with the person NOT carrying the gun? Probably wouldn't happen as long as they could cover their behinds with insurance. But their support of risky laws like "stand your ground" statutes in nearly half the state's makes the pro-gun club liable for death and damages. And that could be too expensive for those who lend them money or cover their gun business bets. In turn, the NRA cannot afford to offer deals on liability insurance to its members who own guns.
By the way, MGM Resorts, the owners of the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay where a madman killed 58 in 2017, are suing more than 1,000 victims. Incredibly, they've taken this action in an attempt to shed their massive liability. Imagine the cost to them if they lose that suit.
You see, when the risk of losing insurance money is greater than the passion to profit from guns, then Congress and state legislatures will enact common sense gun reform. The Bible says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." (1 Timothy 6:10). And those with pockets deep enough to insure your risk are not in the business of losing what they love.
I told you so. We're in good hands.
Since the Parkland High School shooting, I've been dedicating this weekly blog to unraveling the truth in America's gun debate. In that pursuit, I've published a few posts on the grease that lubricates all business, the cost of risk-taking, more commonly called liability insurance. For months now, I've predicted it would be underwriters who would turn the tide in this national debate.
It's happening.
You can't buy a car or mortgage a home without insurance. Nor can you rationally operate a business without liability coverage. Right now, media reports say the National Rifle Association (NRA) can't get coverage because the state of New York is pressuring insurers to deny it to the NRA. Lenders are also listening to New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and his campaign to hobble the NRA by cutting off its liquidity. In fact, the NRA has sighted these issues in a suit against the state of New York. Some are reporting the organization may declare bankruptcy due to these pressures.
So, I believe it's no coincidence that the gun rights group took a shocking stand this week. It is arguing against the position of a Florida shooter in an incident involving that state's "stand your ground" law. There's pressure building on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the incident and Florida legislators are discussing revising the law. All because a man licensed to carry a concealed weapon recently shot and killed another man who had pushed him to the ground in a convenience store parking lot. I shared this event last week. Video from security cameras shows the pushy shopper was actually protecting his girlfriend from the aggressive guy who had approached her vehicle and started an argument over a handicapped parking spot. The sheriff ruled that according to Florida law, the gunman had a right to "stand his ground" when pushed. He then referred the case to the state's attorney to decide. But what about the man's right to protect his girlfriend and their young children in the family car? Did a shove from an unarmed man justify a fatal shot to his chest?
Who would ever imagine that the NRA would side with the person NOT carrying the gun? Probably wouldn't happen as long as they could cover their behinds with insurance. But their support of risky laws like "stand your ground" statutes in nearly half the state's makes the pro-gun club liable for death and damages. And that could be too expensive for those who lend them money or cover their gun business bets. In turn, the NRA cannot afford to offer deals on liability insurance to its members who own guns.
By the way, MGM Resorts, the owners of the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay where a madman killed 58 in 2017, are suing more than 1,000 victims. Incredibly, they've taken this action in an attempt to shed their massive liability. Imagine the cost to them if they lose that suit.
You see, when the risk of losing insurance money is greater than the passion to profit from guns, then Congress and state legislatures will enact common sense gun reform. The Bible says, "The love of money is the root of all evil." (1 Timothy 6:10). And those with pockets deep enough to insure your risk are not in the business of losing what they love.
I told you so. We're in good hands.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
Gun gods.
The First Amendment gives Americans the right to free speech, press, assembly, to petition the government and to practice or not practice religion. So, for example, you can believe in whatever theology you like and pretty much say whatever you wish without interference or regulation. However, if you start sacrificing humans at your worship gathering, the cops are going to show up, shut you down and charge you with murder.
If I libel or slander you with my words, you can take legal action, file suit and seek justice and damages, despite the First Amendment. No rights are unlimited. None.
Now the Second Amendment says this: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." But in Florida, that has become, among other things: "A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony." And that deadly force includes using a firearm.
This week in Florida, a man approached a mother in a parked car outside a store. With her were two of her children, a four-month old son and three-year-old daughter. The man started an argument with her, apparently because she was occupying a spot designated for the disabled. He believed he had the right to enforce parking ordinances and vigorously argued her eligibility to use the spot. There were apparently empty spaces and he insisted she move into one of them. When the woman's boyfriend and father of her children came out of the store, she opened the door of her vehicle and climbed out, putting her in close proximity of the stranger. Her partner quickly stepped forward and shoved the man who was confronting her, pushing him to the ground. Seated on the pavement, the self-proclaimed parking enforcement official pulled a handgun. The boyfriend took steps back, before the assailant shot him in front of his family. Wounded, the dad staggered into the store where he collapsed and died in front of his five-year-old son.
Law enforcement in Florida has not arrested the shooter, declaring he was within his rights to stand his ground and shoot an unarmed man because he believed he had to "to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." The gunman had a concealed weapon's permit.
Question: Was the boyfriend within his rights to protect the mother of his children and the two youngsters inside the car because he felt concerned for their safety? Since in Florida you can kill someone if you "reasonably believe" you're threatened, it would follow you can you push someone if you "reasonably believe" you're threatened, or your loved one is threatened? Law enforcement there must not agree because they've publicly defended the shooter and referred the case to the State Attorney's office to decide. Perhaps if the boyfriend had shot the stranger who confronted his girlfriend at her car window, he would be alive today and free to go about his business because he was just standing his ground with a weapon. Perhaps his mistake was that he didn't shoot the man who came to the family car and provoked an argument. Florida law allows you to stand your ground at home, in your car, in a hotel room and apparently in a parking lot. Twenty-two states have similar laws that do not re quire people to retreat to avoid conflict.
However, just before the victim was shot, he took a couple steps back when he saw the shooter reach for his gun. He wasn't standing his ground but died anyway.
The event was captured on the store's security cameras, which you can view here. I offer this version because it has no commentary. Unfortunately the NY Post added music, but it is raw and unedited:
https://nypost.com/2018/07/20/stand-your-ground-law-protects-shooter-in-deadly-fight-over-parking-space-sheriff/
Now, what if the shooting had occurred around the corner, out of the camera's view?
The idea that we have reached a place where you can pull a gun and shoot and kill an unarmed person who shoves you away from his family in the broad daylight is a frightening concept. This means, your word against a dead man that you felt legitimately threatened. I can sacrifice your life if I "believe" you are dangerous and I'm free to go about my business.
I must be misinterpreting Florida law. The so called, "stand your ground" statute must be based on the First Amendment since it says: "... reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary ..." So, in Florida, you have a right to kill based on what you "believe," because your beliefs are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Sort of like a religion. It's not about facts, it's about what you "reasonably believe."
Here's one very important footnote and the basis of my sarcasm. If you watched the video link above, I'm sure you saw the shooting victim take a couple steps back a good second or two before he was shot. In Florida, the law also clearly states that anyone who "... initially provokes the use or threatened use of force against himself or herself" still has duty to retreat. The shooter took it upon himself to argue with the mother about the parking space, despite the fact there were empty spots much closer to the store entrance. He approached her vehicle, stood nearby, gestured and made demands to a total stranger. This provoked the shove from the father who came out to defend his family. As he approached, his girlfriend stepped outside the car and was much closer to the stranger. Perhaps he thought she was now in harm's way. Maybe he was concerned the stranger was carrying a weapon. Indeed he was.
Here's what one reader of the Florida Sun Sentinel wrote about the matter: "I have a handicapped Disabled Veteran Plate due to Vietnam warfare, yet I still have all my limbs, so I do not always appear disabled. However, I have already been shot (so I have a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Cross of Gallantry w/Palm, and a Combat Infantryman's Badge)," wrote David Brown. "Does that mean I should also be exposed to this (person's) poor judgment, as he stands his ground while I either produce my credentials or tell him to ...?"
You can imagine how David finished that sentence. How Florida police officials missed the idea that the unarmed father was defending his family from the unwanted advances of a stranger at the family vehicle, makes me think they're biased. Biased in favor of gun owners to stand their ground as opposed to those who are unarmed defending their turf. What they believe supercedes your beliefs and visual evidence.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9) He was not referring to the gun that won the West, the 1873 edition of the Colt Single Action Army revolver which came to be called "The Peacemaker." But the nickname implied that flashing that weapon was enough to cool heads. Unfortunately, there were no real, flesh and bone peacemakers in that parking lot in Florida. So, a father went into a store with a five-year-old to buy snacks and came outside to meet his Maker.
Tragically, in America, gun's have become gods. And some who are hired to keep the peace worship them.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
If I libel or slander you with my words, you can take legal action, file suit and seek justice and damages, despite the First Amendment. No rights are unlimited. None.
Now the Second Amendment says this: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." But in Florida, that has become, among other things: "A person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the imminent commission of a forcible felony." And that deadly force includes using a firearm.
This week in Florida, a man approached a mother in a parked car outside a store. With her were two of her children, a four-month old son and three-year-old daughter. The man started an argument with her, apparently because she was occupying a spot designated for the disabled. He believed he had the right to enforce parking ordinances and vigorously argued her eligibility to use the spot. There were apparently empty spaces and he insisted she move into one of them. When the woman's boyfriend and father of her children came out of the store, she opened the door of her vehicle and climbed out, putting her in close proximity of the stranger. Her partner quickly stepped forward and shoved the man who was confronting her, pushing him to the ground. Seated on the pavement, the self-proclaimed parking enforcement official pulled a handgun. The boyfriend took steps back, before the assailant shot him in front of his family. Wounded, the dad staggered into the store where he collapsed and died in front of his five-year-old son.
Law enforcement in Florida has not arrested the shooter, declaring he was within his rights to stand his ground and shoot an unarmed man because he believed he had to "to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm." The gunman had a concealed weapon's permit.
Question: Was the boyfriend within his rights to protect the mother of his children and the two youngsters inside the car because he felt concerned for their safety? Since in Florida you can kill someone if you "reasonably believe" you're threatened, it would follow you can you push someone if you "reasonably believe" you're threatened, or your loved one is threatened? Law enforcement there must not agree because they've publicly defended the shooter and referred the case to the State Attorney's office to decide. Perhaps if the boyfriend had shot the stranger who confronted his girlfriend at her car window, he would be alive today and free to go about his business because he was just standing his ground with a weapon. Perhaps his mistake was that he didn't shoot the man who came to the family car and provoked an argument. Florida law allows you to stand your ground at home, in your car, in a hotel room and apparently in a parking lot. Twenty-two states have similar laws that do not re quire people to retreat to avoid conflict.
However, just before the victim was shot, he took a couple steps back when he saw the shooter reach for his gun. He wasn't standing his ground but died anyway.
The event was captured on the store's security cameras, which you can view here. I offer this version because it has no commentary. Unfortunately the NY Post added music, but it is raw and unedited:
https://nypost.com/2018/07/20/stand-your-ground-law-protects-shooter-in-deadly-fight-over-parking-space-sheriff/
Now, what if the shooting had occurred around the corner, out of the camera's view?
The idea that we have reached a place where you can pull a gun and shoot and kill an unarmed person who shoves you away from his family in the broad daylight is a frightening concept. This means, your word against a dead man that you felt legitimately threatened. I can sacrifice your life if I "believe" you are dangerous and I'm free to go about my business.
I must be misinterpreting Florida law. The so called, "stand your ground" statute must be based on the First Amendment since it says: "... reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary ..." So, in Florida, you have a right to kill based on what you "believe," because your beliefs are protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Sort of like a religion. It's not about facts, it's about what you "reasonably believe."
Here's one very important footnote and the basis of my sarcasm. If you watched the video link above, I'm sure you saw the shooting victim take a couple steps back a good second or two before he was shot. In Florida, the law also clearly states that anyone who "... initially provokes the use or threatened use of force against himself or herself" still has duty to retreat. The shooter took it upon himself to argue with the mother about the parking space, despite the fact there were empty spots much closer to the store entrance. He approached her vehicle, stood nearby, gestured and made demands to a total stranger. This provoked the shove from the father who came out to defend his family. As he approached, his girlfriend stepped outside the car and was much closer to the stranger. Perhaps he thought she was now in harm's way. Maybe he was concerned the stranger was carrying a weapon. Indeed he was.
Here's what one reader of the Florida Sun Sentinel wrote about the matter: "I have a handicapped Disabled Veteran Plate due to Vietnam warfare, yet I still have all my limbs, so I do not always appear disabled. However, I have already been shot (so I have a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Air Medal, Cross of Gallantry w/Palm, and a Combat Infantryman's Badge)," wrote David Brown. "Does that mean I should also be exposed to this (person's) poor judgment, as he stands his ground while I either produce my credentials or tell him to ...?"
You can imagine how David finished that sentence. How Florida police officials missed the idea that the unarmed father was defending his family from the unwanted advances of a stranger at the family vehicle, makes me think they're biased. Biased in favor of gun owners to stand their ground as opposed to those who are unarmed defending their turf. What they believe supercedes your beliefs and visual evidence.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, because they will be called the children of God." (Matthew 5:9) He was not referring to the gun that won the West, the 1873 edition of the Colt Single Action Army revolver which came to be called "The Peacemaker." But the nickname implied that flashing that weapon was enough to cool heads. Unfortunately, there were no real, flesh and bone peacemakers in that parking lot in Florida. So, a father went into a store with a five-year-old to buy snacks and came outside to meet his Maker.
Tragically, in America, gun's have become gods. And some who are hired to keep the peace worship them.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Do we care?
It's amazing what we can do when we put our minds to it. But we have to care.
Did you know that the automotive electric self-starter was invented because someone was killed by a crank start? That's right. In 1908, a Detroit car guy stopped to help a woman on the city's Belle Isle when her snazzy Cadillac stalled. Byron Carter, founder of the CarterCar company generously offered to rescue the stranded lady. He had sold his company to GM in 1909 and was a buddy of Cadillac founder, Henry Leyland. Well, when he cranked the woman's Caddy, the engine backfired and the crank mechanism slammed Carter in the jaw, breaking it. Gangrene developed, then pneumonia and Carter died that year. Reportedly, Leyland was so saddened, he promised his engineering team a Cadillac would never kill another person. In 1912, the luxury carmaker introduced a self-starter on its vehicles. No more killer cranks. GM genius, Charles Kettering, and founder of Delco held the patent for the life-saving device.
In Muscoy, California this week, a four-year-old boy accidentally shot and fatally wounded his cousin, a two-year-old girl. The dead child's 53-year-old grandfather has been arrested for child endangerment. He recklessly left the loaded firearm within reach of the children. I would not want to be that grandpa. My heart aches for him.
Now, I'm guessing his relatives won't sue him for liability in the death of their daughter. And the parents of the four year old won't sue him for damages in the trauma their boy endured when he picked up a gun and killed his relative.
In one way, that's unfortunate. Because lawsuits involving damages due to gun violence could lead to dramatic improvements in gun safety. They could spark the type of powerful technology improvements that have helped dramatically reduce highway deaths in U.S. since the turn of the 21st century.
Please allow me to explain. Here's what happened in the car business. It's the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) that has applied profound pressure to automakers and government regulators. The IIHS has powerful lobbies and clever public relations teams who help generate a lot of data, test results and information about those car crashes that cause the most expensive automotive injuries. Their work leads to high-profile news stories. To protect the profits of insurance companies, the IIHS researches vehicle safety to identify the issues that cost insurers the most money. Technology companies seize on these situations to create interventions to help save lives. With plenty of grease applied by the insurers, sooner than later, these advances often become required, standard equipment. According to the IIHS, there were nearly 51,000 vehicle-related deaths in 1980. Forty years later, in 2011, there were about 19,000 fewer deaths! That's a lot of lives saved! And between 2005 and 2009, the number killed plummeted from 43,500 to 32,500, about a 25% drop.
Not coincidentally, in 2009 and 2010, carmakers were standardizing electronic stability control (ESC), because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require it by 2012. ESC helps reduce the likelihood of a crash up to 65%. Most people today don't even know they have it on their vehicles because it's a sophisticated, automated system.
Imagine if that gun the four-year-old boy picked up this week had a way to detect that a child was holding it and not its owner. I've written a similar line recently. I'm taking a cue from the insurance people. Keep up the pressure.
Maybe if we pray for a change as well as continue to push for change the way the IIHS does, we'll see improvements in firearm safety sooner than later. Miracles are possible. Jesus himself said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater one's than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)
So, what are we going to do about all the kids who are dying? Do we care?
Did you know that the automotive electric self-starter was invented because someone was killed by a crank start? That's right. In 1908, a Detroit car guy stopped to help a woman on the city's Belle Isle when her snazzy Cadillac stalled. Byron Carter, founder of the CarterCar company generously offered to rescue the stranded lady. He had sold his company to GM in 1909 and was a buddy of Cadillac founder, Henry Leyland. Well, when he cranked the woman's Caddy, the engine backfired and the crank mechanism slammed Carter in the jaw, breaking it. Gangrene developed, then pneumonia and Carter died that year. Reportedly, Leyland was so saddened, he promised his engineering team a Cadillac would never kill another person. In 1912, the luxury carmaker introduced a self-starter on its vehicles. No more killer cranks. GM genius, Charles Kettering, and founder of Delco held the patent for the life-saving device.
In Muscoy, California this week, a four-year-old boy accidentally shot and fatally wounded his cousin, a two-year-old girl. The dead child's 53-year-old grandfather has been arrested for child endangerment. He recklessly left the loaded firearm within reach of the children. I would not want to be that grandpa. My heart aches for him.
Now, I'm guessing his relatives won't sue him for liability in the death of their daughter. And the parents of the four year old won't sue him for damages in the trauma their boy endured when he picked up a gun and killed his relative.
In one way, that's unfortunate. Because lawsuits involving damages due to gun violence could lead to dramatic improvements in gun safety. They could spark the type of powerful technology improvements that have helped dramatically reduce highway deaths in U.S. since the turn of the 21st century.
Please allow me to explain. Here's what happened in the car business. It's the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) that has applied profound pressure to automakers and government regulators. The IIHS has powerful lobbies and clever public relations teams who help generate a lot of data, test results and information about those car crashes that cause the most expensive automotive injuries. Their work leads to high-profile news stories. To protect the profits of insurance companies, the IIHS researches vehicle safety to identify the issues that cost insurers the most money. Technology companies seize on these situations to create interventions to help save lives. With plenty of grease applied by the insurers, sooner than later, these advances often become required, standard equipment. According to the IIHS, there were nearly 51,000 vehicle-related deaths in 1980. Forty years later, in 2011, there were about 19,000 fewer deaths! That's a lot of lives saved! And between 2005 and 2009, the number killed plummeted from 43,500 to 32,500, about a 25% drop.
Not coincidentally, in 2009 and 2010, carmakers were standardizing electronic stability control (ESC), because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would require it by 2012. ESC helps reduce the likelihood of a crash up to 65%. Most people today don't even know they have it on their vehicles because it's a sophisticated, automated system.
Imagine if that gun the four-year-old boy picked up this week had a way to detect that a child was holding it and not its owner. I've written a similar line recently. I'm taking a cue from the insurance people. Keep up the pressure.
Maybe if we pray for a change as well as continue to push for change the way the IIHS does, we'll see improvements in firearm safety sooner than later. Miracles are possible. Jesus himself said, "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater one's than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:12)
So, what are we going to do about all the kids who are dying? Do we care?
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Packin' fear
You're 17 and you've been arrested twice for carrying a firearm. You're thinking about getting another because you don't feel safe walking your neighborhood without one.
Stories like these are real and not rare. I spoke to a social worker recently who manages cases in one of America's most violent neighborhoods. She told me teenagers there are routinely arrested for illegally carrying guns but not for committing a crime with a firearm. They buy a weapon for protection because they fear being shot at home, walking to school, or sitting on a corner.
They become hypervigilant. They look over their shoulders. They talk to their workers about fear. They carry guns. And some of them become victims of gunfire. Some die.
During the debate about gun rights in America, some people often suggest the answer to gun violence is arming everyone. Arming teachers in schools. I guess, arming clergy in churches because we've had shootings in churches.
Perhaps when everyone carries a gun, we'll all become hypervigilant, walk about with our heads on a swivel and we'll need to talk to our social workers about our fears.
Stories like these are real and not rare. I spoke to a social worker recently who manages cases in one of America's most violent neighborhoods. She told me teenagers there are routinely arrested for illegally carrying guns but not for committing a crime with a firearm. They buy a weapon for protection because they fear being shot at home, walking to school, or sitting on a corner.
They become hypervigilant. They look over their shoulders. They talk to their workers about fear. They carry guns. And some of them become victims of gunfire. Some die.
During the debate about gun rights in America, some people often suggest the answer to gun violence is arming everyone. Arming teachers in schools. I guess, arming clergy in churches because we've had shootings in churches.
Perhaps when everyone carries a gun, we'll all become hypervigilant, walk about with our heads on a swivel and we'll need to talk to our social workers about our fears.
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