"Real Time" Gun Debate Goes Viral

Bill Maher's "Real Time" panel had a great, however brief, debate over gun regulation policies and America's unique gun culture. And by panel, I really mean the one-on-one that took place between author Sam Harris and Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey. Part of the debate concerned a blog Harris wrote several weeks ago, which you can read here.

This particular clip demonstrates how complex the gun-violence issue is to address in America. Even on a very liberal panel, there are vast differences of opinion as to how to tackle the problem. Responsible gun owners clearly are not limited to members of the Republican party.

Harris's blog, "The Riddle of the Gun," has also sparked an informative and interesting debate between Richard Dawkin's RDFRS. (I'm not sure if there's some sort of prize if one side succeeds at out-reasoning the other).

According to data compiled by Slate, more than 1600 people have died in America from gun violence since the Sandy Hook school shooting in December. By any stretch of the imagination, that is a hell of a lot of people. Slate has arranged the data into an interactive map that shows the date, age, sex and state, where gun-deaths have occurred. The point is, every day gun violence occurs in both Red and Blue states and an individual's opinion about gun laws and how to prevent gun violence is not limited to where one lies on the political spectrum.

For NTQ!'s take on addressing and reducing gun violence, check out Nathan Rothwell's editorial here.

Reducing Gun Violence Means Addressing Poverty, Desperation

By Nathan Rothwell

Firearm-related homicides in U.S. cities rival those of the deadliest nations

I would like to preface this piece by acknowledging that my perspective on gun control is colored by personal circumstances. For example, I have no children – nor do I intend to. Perhaps I would feel stronger about limiting the availability of firearms if this were not the case, or perhaps not. In any case, I freely admit that this bias exists.

I have also never been a victim of gun violence, nor do I directly know anyone who has. This likely sets my opinions apart from those who tragically cannot say the same. But this is important to note, because the great gun discussion which has gripped the nation for decades includes a wide variety of perspectives, with every one of them colored by individual motives and experience. Honestly, I would not have this debate any other way.

With that said, there is only one place for this debate to begin. Special attention must be brought to the conversation’s loudest voice, belonging to none other than Wayne LaPierre and the National Rifle Association.

Over the last 15 years, the NRA has been acknowledged as one of America’s most influential lobbying groups. They have proved to be quite successful in lobbying toward a single goal: promoting gun ownership. While there is nothing inherently wrong with their objective, they seem unmoved by the resulting consequences. When LaPierre argues in favor of putting more guns near schools in the name of protecting children, is he concerned with promoting safety, or gun ownership? When the NRA releases its own video game almost immediately after blaming video games for our national violence problem, how can it be argued that they do not value promoting gun ownership above all else?

This should go without saying since it’s so painfully obvious, but it unfortunately must be repeated again, as the NRA would rather not admit to it – firearms are offensive weapons and instruments of violence. They hold the potential to end a life within the blink of an eye, and this potential is realized every day when lives end at the barrel of a gun. LaPierre and his organization seems completely unwilling to own up to these simple facts, which makes them difficult to take seriously when discussing gun control.

There is just no overlooking the fact that gun violence cannot be committed without guns. The NRA deserves to be taken to task for constantly and disingenuously skirting around this obvious truth. However, and as much as it pains me to do this, I have to agree with their staunch opposition to recent gun control legislation.