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Gun Control Plus

Here we are in the wake of another heart shattering mass murder of children in an American school. The pattern of response has become so familiar: shock, outrage, mourning, discussions about the odd, solitary, bullied perpetrator from a broken home who loved guns. And then the inevitable turn to the panacea: gun control.

I don’t have a problem with controlling the ability of Americans to purchase weapons. Coming from Israel, where you need to jump through many hoops, including the ability to convince the licensing bureau why you need a gun before you can purchase one (and believe me, every Israeli has a very good reason to have a gun these days), it seems a no-brainer. However, if Americans want to prevent the next tragedy, gun control isn’t nearly enough.

First, Americans have to do something about the breakdown of their society. The assault against the family structure in America which began in the Sixties with the “new morality” has had devastating results, with the biggest losers being America’s children.

Photo by Maria Oswalt

A new Pew Research Study of 130 countries and territories shows that the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Almost a quarter of U.S. children under the age of 18 live with one parent and no other adults (23%), more than three times the children around the world who do so (7%).

This might have something to do with the fact that about half of all marriages in America end in divorce. And that might have something to do with the fact that 165 million Americans 12 or older currently abuse drugs, if we include alcohol and tobacco. Forty seven percent of young people have used an illegal drug by the time they graduate from high school.

Add to that the statistics of teenage addiction to online gaming and the true picture of the nightmare teenage school shooters becomes frighteningly clear. A 2021 study in the journal Addictive Behaviors found that among 3,000 students, more than 19 percent of males and 7.8 percent of females were classified as having gaming disorder or addiction. And those numbers are likely to increase as the industry gains even more ground.

In the United States, spending on video games grew by 30 percent in the second quarter of 2020, to a record $11.6 billion. Worldwide, gaming industry revenue is expected to reach $180 billion in 2021, with an estimated 2.5 billion people playing around the globe. That will mean even more children addicted to video games like Fortnite, Minecraft, Fall Guys, and Animal Crossing, which are among the most popular video games for teens.

 In a Chinese study of the Center for Mental Health education at Southwest University in Chongqing, researchers found that male adolescents especially saw online gaming addicts suffering from increased “social anxiety, depression and loneliness.” The excessive use of online games may isolate players from the real world and “does little to facilitate the development of real life relationships.” Almost thirteen years ago, research into the effects of of pathological gaming, regardless of violent content, was shown to predict an increase in physical aggression among boys.   And this is without taking into consideration how many murders and other violent crimes to which children have been exposed by television and movies, not to mention real life.

It is time that Americans wake up to the fact that the horrific mass shootings that are breaking the hearts of the American people are the result of a deeper malaise that is eroding values and sending American society into a tailspin in which its young people are growing up unloved, unsupervised, and extremely angry; angry enough to shoot their parents and grandparents, and pull the trigger on helpless children.

Taking away the guns from those who have no reason to have them is a good start, but as a panacea will disappoint. The disaffected loners who are the waste products of America’s toxic and rapidly disintegrating social fabric will find another way to express their hatred. You can bet on it.

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15 comments on “Gun Control Plus”

  1. Rita

    I greatly disagree with you on the gaming issue. Your first mistake is believing anything coming out of China. Their society is based on conformity, because conformity breeds docile slaves. And China is a huge slave country. ( I am not talking about the recent detention of the Muslims of their north, I am talking about entire country because in Communist countries there are only two classes the slaves and the slave masters)

    So, no, gaming [barring excessive] is not bad for you. There were many studies that show that video games produce better hand to eye coordination and train brains towards problem solving. This makes better pilots, drivers, web security, engineering and etc.

    As far as drugs, family breakdown and promotion of amorality I agree with you.

    Also, please keep in mind that guns is the only thing that is keeping US a free country, just look how quickly Canada became a dictatorship a few months ago.

  2. Shmuel Shimshoni

    The right of every American male to BEAR arms has been misunderstood right from the beginning.
    Misspelled and misunderstood.
    To BARe arms, means to roll up your sleeves and get to work.

  3. Charles

    Larry:
    Can you give me examples of racism that we are currently experiencing in the U.S? 85% of the Blacks in Chicago are killed by Blacks, is that racism? Is anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism (same thing) racism? If someone who is anti-Semitic and wants to kill you and the police are 20 minutes away and you have a gun, what are you going to do? Just asking.

    Your response is emotional, not logical.

  4. Charles

    For all those who are pro-gun control, keep this in mind: On average, it takes 15 minutes for a police officer to respond to a crisis situation. If a person that has a semi-automatic weapon, how many people can they kill in 15 minutes? A shooter can empty 10 rounds in 5 seconds at the most. If the shooter has several clips, they replace the one in the gun in less than 2 seconds. You do the math.
    You may want to ban guns, but, cannot ban insanity. If you are looking at government to ensure your safety, then you’re not as safe as you think you are.
    Look at Nazi Germany, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia and just recently Ukraine with Zelensky wanting to arm the Ukrainian citizenry.
    Although, what happened in Uvalde is a terrible tragedy that should not have happened. The other tragedy is the death of nearly 1MM people in the U.S from COVID, high reinfection rate of those vaccinated, the death of unborn babies due to the vaccine jab, the death of over 100,000 people due to the importation of fentanyl over our borders, suicides from lockdowns and more.
    Just remember, government is not the solution, it is the problem.

  5. Charles

    Naomi:

    You are correct on everything you have written. In addition, I would like to add that we need to look at what role politicians, media and subversive elements have played in dividing our Country.

  6. Marc Bailey

    Apparently the 2nd amendment cannot be repealed. That is patently absurd. It is an ‘Amendment’

    Question: Does the N In NRA stand for neanderthal?

  7. Marc Bailey

    It is seldom that a week goes by without news of another shooting fatality in USA. How many more lives must be lost before people realise that this insane killing must be stopped and that the first step in stopping it is either the repeal of the 2nd amendment or a more literal reading of it. The stated basis for it was to have an effective standby militia. Is that really necessary today? Does one in fact exist today? I seriously doubt it. If one does exist and the 2nd amendment is to remain and be relevant then the right given by it should only be to those individuals who are members of an organised militia and maintain regular training sessions.
    The first step toward the repeal of amendment 2 is, or should be outlawing the NRA.
    I hear many people say that it must stay because it is part of the constitution.

    • Stu Tarlowe

      You are absolutely correct. The 2nd Amendment is predicated on the concept that the right to self-defense is God-given and should not be infringed upon by any government, and that governments need the deterrence of a citizenry as well-armed as the military, to keep such governments from sliding into tyranny without resistance. But things are so much different today: the tendency of governments to become tyrannical toward their own people no longer exists. Governments are concerned only with the well-being of their citizenry, and would never do anything to control the people or limit their freedom. Not only the 2nd Amendment but the entire U.S. Constitution is out-of-date (it doesn’t even mention the rights of transgenders!) and no longer useful.

  8. Sam Salamon

    “Gun control” in eg Chicago is doing great. It’s not the guns, it’s society rotting with useless school curricula that won’t dare teach classics or mention G-d. And unguided children lose or never learn respect for civilization or even their own lives.
    Well said Naomi
    And my guns exist to protect me and mine from the resulting sociopaths

  9. Beverly Shea

    Without a father in the home boys do not have that close at hand role model to teach them how to be good, responsible men. My husband, and other responsible men in the family, have spent much time with those nephews in the family that did not have a father in the home. We all believe it was time well spent. One thing we noticed is that because they did not have a father in the home they sometimes needed some of us aunts to help endorse and encourage what the uncles were teaching them as they were used to their mother and older sisters disciplining them.
    Our country could change the narrative from focusing on the weapons as much and instead focus on preventing these males from becoming “lost boys” who rely on video games for company. Our church started an after school program a number of years ago so that the elementary and middle school students who would have perhaps been alone after school have a place to go for learning, recreation, and fellowship. We need more programs like this.

  10. Linda Drum

    The gun problem in America comes mainly from the hypocrisy of the Republican Party who obsess over guns and care more about protecting the innocent fertilized egg over the innocent born lives. The NRA contributes millions to the campaign coffers of Republicans and their supporters would likely not vote for them if they spoke about gun control. This is how our former moronic sociopath president manages to keep the party in line. When you have no conscience, mass murders are only worrisome if it results in a loss of support. From what I have seen, this is not a problem. America is severely polarized and is in danger of losing all that once made it a shining city on a hill.

  11. Bob Broida

    Right on, Naomi. Yesterday, my wife and I were discussing the pervasive poison that are today’s realistic and quite graphic video games. Many parents (our kids included) use these highly addictive games as “child care.” I may not have all the facts, but my guess is that the convenient political demons of racism, money and arms manufacturers had little to do with the topic at hand (the recent shooting). Keep up the excellent work!

    PS My weapon poses no danger to anyone – unless they are a threat to me or my family.

    • Moshe ben Yonah

      Ironic that you close your piece with the typical ad hominem attack on and psychiatric diagnosis of the former president with a reference to America as having been a “shining city on a hill”, an ideal promoted by a former Republican president.
      To respond in kind, I think it is disconcerting to be shouted at for the need for gun control (without any detail on what that is or how it should be implemented) by a senile old man with nuclear weapons.

      • Moshe ben Yonah

        Bob,

        As I hope is obvious, I was attempting to reply to Linda Drum.

        Keep your powder dry,

        M

  12. Larry Shapiro

    With respect Naomi. The culture that worships guns and uses them to express anger, vengeance and to commit suicide has nothing to do with single families. It’s all about racism and money. The arms manufacturers use the power of the U.S. Constitution to frighten people into needing guns. Hatred of minorities drives people tp arm themselves. The attitude that there is anarchy on the streets that can only be assuaged by good guys carrying guns is the product of these two influences.

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