If I Ran the Zoo: Gun Control

Written in 1950, If I Ran the Zoo is my favorite book by Dr. Seuss. As much as I enjoy the story, I appreciate the underlying theme even more: If I was in charge of this wacky country that we call home, here are the unconventional ideas I would pursue. This is one of those ideas.

Common Sense

Alison and I were lucky enough to spend a month in Québec City, Canada last summer. During our time there, we learned a lot about Canada and its many similarities to the United States. For example:

Statistic	United States	Canada
​Area	​3.79 million square miles	​3.85 million square miles
​Literacy	​99%	​99%
​Life expectancy	78 years	​81 years
​GDP per capita	​USD$47,106	​USD$47,567

​But then, of course, there are guns and gun violence. Those statistics look like this:

​Statistic	​United States	​Canada
​Murders involving a gun	​8,813	172
​Murders per 100,000 people	​5.0	1.8
​Guns per capita	​1.13	0.31
​License required	​No	Yes
​Background check required	​No	Yes
​Personal references required	​No	Yes
​Mandatory waiting period	No	Yes
​Safety course required	No	​Yes

​Triple the guns, triple the murders. The answer to the gun violence in the United States is simple:

Fewer guns in the hands of fewer, better vetted and trained people will reduce gun violence.

"But wait," people will say, "you are treading on my 2nd amendment rights. The framers of the Constitution have promised me that..."

​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.

To that, I would answer that neither the 2nd amendment nor the Constitution itself is inviolate. Remember, these are the same founding fathers that framed a Constitution in which:

• Women did not have the right to vote
• Black people could be legally owned by white people!

As a nation, we've managed to come to our senses regarding those two abominations. It's time that we did the same for the 2nd amendment and introduced some common sense.

Common Nonsense

These ads from Moms Demand Action speak for themselves: