In recent weeks, the focus has once again turned to the unaddressed problem of gun violence in the United States, and, as expected, the National Rifle Association (NRA) has been a vocal opponent of any sensible gun control legislation, including a universal background check, which they try to equate with the Nazis.
How to counter the NRA’s constant pimping for the gun manufacturers who bankroll them? With facts. Cold hard facts that show just how prevalent guns are in connection with violence.
Now we have the Angie Project, which can be found on Twitter with the address @angieproject. This Twitter feed shows, in real time, each and every time a person in the United States is harmed by the use of a gun. Here are a few tweets from their feed:
The Latest: University releases names of victims in shooting – WRCB-TV http://t.co/TdAaJGarOC
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
Victim identified in Birmingham parking lot shooting – WTVM http://t.co/pbyvZtNdQY
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
Man injured in early morning Anchorage shooting – http://t.co/xQwcTAfs54 http://t.co/x4hxStXbpV
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
Graffiti tagging leads to deadly shooting in Pueblo, authorites say – KRDO http://t.co/srYnOcTFun
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
suspects identified in officer-involved shooting – WMC Action News 5 http://t.co/O82POZ6Drb
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
Boy, 17, taken to hospital after shooting in Norfolk – The Virginian-Pilot http://t.co/xRQscAWqGi
— Angie Project (@AngieProject) October 9, 2015
Notice the timeline on these six posts: All of them took place in the space of one hour! Yet the NRA loves to say that the United States doesn’t have a gun problem, it has a crime problem. But what that neglects to realize is that much greater damage can be done with a gun than any other weapon available to the average citizen.
The gun nuts and NRA fanatics who are reading this will not like to hear it, but this is what will soon be happening: The tide is turning against the lack of action by Congress on this issue, and President Obama may soon be taking executive action to at least mandate universal background checks. And when it happens, if you want to know who’s to blame for the move, and for the blood flowing on our streets, go put on your NRA cap or T-shirt and stand in front of the mirror. You have just met the problem.
Featured image by Flickr, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license.
