On Wednesday morning WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and her cameraman were shot and killed in the middle of broadcast by a former station employee.
According to a 2013 study found that homicide at work isn’t actually that uncommon. According to the study, 9% of workplace deaths were caused by homicide. That’s a total of 397 people.
Furthermore thinkprogress writer Bryce Covert said,
“That’s more than were killed by fires and explosions, getting caught in equipment or machinery, and exposure to harmful substances combined. The total number of homicides was down from 2012, when there were 475 work-related homicides.”
Also in 2013, 302 work fatalities were female and 22% of those was homicides. Making it the leading cause of death for women in the work place.
The study has led some to call for gun laws in the work place but the NRA wants a different piece of legislation put in place.
In 2002 after Weyerhaeuser Company fired a group of employees when guns were discovered in their cars during a drug search, the group pushed Oklahoma state legislation to bar employers from punishing their employees for bringing guns to work but keeping them locked in their cars.
In 2008 the group got Florida state legislation to enact Guns in the Workplace law, despite opposition from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Retail Federation and Walt Disney World Corporation.
While I can’t say for certain what the answer I’m not sure that the NRA’s solution is the best, nor do I think it is the worst. Historically, the NRA has been a big endorser of the 2nd amendment without compromise, but now it might be the time to take a different approach.
If we want to curb the trend of work place deaths we need to look inward and find the motives and the root cause of the violence that occurs.
To read more about gun carry and guns in places with a lot of people check out WTF?! Michigan Court: Gun Nuts Can Open Carry In Elementary Schools
