The New York Times
Do We Have the Courage to Stop This?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
IN the harrowing aftermath of the school shooting in Connecticut, one thought wells in my mind: Why can’t we regulate guns as seriously as we do cars?*
So let’s treat firearms rationally as the center of a public health
crisis that claims one life every 20 minutes. The United States
realistically isn’t going to ban guns, but we can take steps to reduce
the carnage.
American schoolchildren are protected by building codes that govern
stairways and windows. School buses must meet safety standards, and the
bus drivers have to pass tests. Cafeteria food is regulated for safety.
The only things we seem lax about are the things most likely to kill.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has five pages of regulations about ladders, while federal authorities shrug at serious curbs on firearms. Ladders kill around 300 Americans a year, and guns 30,000.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?hp
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