How many gun deaths, on average, occur in the United States each year?

[Valley Oak]

The following questionnaire was published by "Ultra Violet," which is a community of women and men, fighting to expand women's rights and combat sexism everywhere - from politics and government to media and pop culture.

https://www.weareultraviolet.org/

How many gun deaths, on average, occur in the United States each year?

Want to find out the answer? Take our quick quiz here:

Take the quiz.

We just spent this weekend with a set of incredibly brave UltraViolet members who have survived gun violence. The experience was deeply powerful. We met Casper from Wisconsin, a hunter whose daughter was murdered by her husband. He wants AR-15s off the streets. Julie from Texas lost her daughter, who was murdered by her husband when she was 39 weeks pregnant. And there was Diann, whose nephew was the victim of a drive-by shooting. And more.

We'll have more on their stories about gun violence soon. But this weekend, they had a very clear message for all of us: People need to know the facts and the truth about gun violence and how it impacts us every day.

Today you can help make sure those facts get out there. Our quick and informative quiz is easy to share online. And studies show that when it comes to social networks, people trust information and posts by their friends more than by anyone else. It couldn't be more important to share this information right now--too many children, mothers, fathers, wives and husbands die every day because of gun violence. If we don't get the facts out now, we may lose our chance to do something about it.

[Johny Felix]

Have you ever had a gun pointed directly at you by a police officer before Edward?

The sensationalism from that type of experience is much worst than that which you are attempting to provoke with your barrage of postings my friend. Trust me. But unfortunately, many people have had the privilege of not being oppressed, and therefore think that oppression doesn't actually exist.

I wish I had more heart to argue on these forums, because what is actually happening is another step in the pacification of a population through media (including social media) guided fear. Here is yet another example.

Dear Waccovites, How many gun deaths, on average, occur in the United States each year? Want to find out the answer? Take our quick quiz here: Take the quiz. We just spent this weekend with a set of incredibly brave UltraViolet members who have survived gun violence. The experience was deeply powerful. We met Casper from Wisconsin, a hunter whose daughter was murdered by her husband. He wants AR-15s off the streets. Julie from Texas lost her daughter, who was murdered by her husband when she was 39 weeks pregnant. And there was Diann, whose nephew was the victim of a drive-by shooting.

[Valley Oak]

So if you had had an AK-47 at that moment you described, you could have defended yourself from this police officer you referred to by shooting him? Is that what you are saying?

Because the banning of Assault Rifles (ARs) is what is trying to be accomplished, not the banning of all guns, which you are at the very least implying. But a lot of folks, such as yourself, prefer to believe something else that is completely untrue: that the 'gummint' wants to take away ALL guns, which is an enormous and preposterous lie.

Try focusing on the fact, for just 60 seconds, that the legislation that has been debated recently because of the Sandy Hook massacre is about banning assault rifles, limiting magazine capacity, gun show loopholes, etc. Why do you insist that ALL guns are going to be taken away from you when this is clearly not true?

And please try answering the first question I have asked you. Would have you shot that police officer? Because it sounds like that is what you want to have a "right" to do. Do you even have a gun in the first place? I don't have a gun, never have, never will. No need.

On another note, I trust the police. Sure, there are plenty of examples of police abusing their authority but that doesn't mean that we all have to pack an AK-47 in every car and then murder the police officer who pulls us over, which is what most of the pro-gun rhetoric appears to be saying.

Issues regarding police conduct can be addressed by more comprehensive training of police cadets. A person who gets a Bachelor's degree in anything has to go through a lot of schooling. We should require the same training of our police officers.

If you want to make reference, for example, among others, that the police in Oakland caused brain damage to a combat veteran, that is a reasonable complaint. That can be dealt with through the passage of laws to control police conduct, not arming ourselves to the teeth and then, supposedly, going after those police and shooting them. This is a ludicrous fantasy that NEVER happens, despite the fact that the American public is already armed to the teeth with all kinds of weaponry. Yet, police abuses take place anyway. Your "strategy" of keeping the police under control through an armed citizenry does not work very well at all. If anything, it probably creates a lot more paranoia on the part of the police. Not a good thing.

So the reality is, we already have that society for which you are arguing for, an American public armed to the teeth so that the police won't do what they did to you. It doesn't work. We need laws, citizen participation, contacting your representative, going to city hall, writing the editor, proposing laws, federal grand juries, and many other activities that will correct police conduct so that these tragedies don't take place and to punish them when they do occur.

Furthermore, we should pay our police A LOT more money than what we are paying them now. They are prepared, everyday of their lives, to sacrifice themselves for you and me and a few bad apples do not justify your ridiculous and reprehensible attitude. Shame on you. You are an irresponsible and immature individual who is disconnected from reality and the truth, dependent on fantasies and stereotypes. You are not a part of the solution; you are a part of the problem, Johnny.

Edward

Have you ever had a gun pointed directly at you by a police officer before Edward?

The sensationalism from that type of experience is much worst than that which you are attempting to provoke with your barrage of postings my friend. Trust me. But unfortunately, many people have had the privilege of not being oppressed, and therefore think that oppression doesn't actually exist.

I wish I had more heart to argue on these forums, because what is actually happening is another step in the pacification of a population through media (including social media) guided fear. Here is yet another example.