If I ran the zoo

As Bob Seger eloquently expressed in song, it’s time for Americans to “Turn the Page.”

Just when you thought gun ownership in this country could not get worse, it becomes totally out of control. Mass shootings are becoming commonplace.

The Trump administration brought out the haters, literally speaking, as a mob descended on the U.S. Capitol.

That resulted in several killings and the arrests are still happening. Two policemen committed suicide as a result of the event, and police suicides are on the rise.

In many civilized countries, including Canada, police are not armed because gun ownership is very sparse. If an American policeman gets depressed for whatever reasons, it is so easy to just grab a gun and end it all.

I understand it has to be tough if you grew up in a gun loving family and maybe had the stuffed head of an animal on a wall of Grandpa’s house. Many countries have very strict gun control but still allow hunting rifles with strict licensing.

Another terrible consequence of gun ownership is that when it is combined with alcoholism, it can result in domestic violence or a young kid’s curiosity not only killing the cat, but also his or herself or a sibling because Papa passed out and didn’t lock his gun up.

Yes, I understand this has to be very frustrating for the majority of gun owners who are very responsible but they just have to look at the big picture and set a good example by supporting stricter gun controls. Just this week a 16-year old boy in Seattle opened the door at his family home and was shot and killed. This has become so common that it did not get tons of publicity.

President Biden is speaking out eloquently on this issue and hopefully he can get some tighter gun controls in place during his administration. but that would be only the beginning.

In 1996, 35 people were killed by a gunman wielding semi-automatic weapons in Tasmania, a tragedy called the Port Arthur massacre, and the event galvanized the nation, causing Australia to enact very stringent firearm laws.

Less than two weeks after the Port Arthur massacre, all six Australian states agreed to enact sweeping gun laws banning semi-automatic rifles and shotguns – weapons that kill many people quickly. They also demanded 28-day waiting periods, allowing thorough background checks and required a “justifiable reason” to own a gun.

The Australian laws were designed to reduce mass shootings, but the rate of homicides and suicides have also dramatically decreased.

There are too many red states in the U.S. to pass that kind of sweeping legislation but hopefully Biden will start the ball rolling so that America can at some point “Turn the Page” and join the other civilized countries in the world in putting an end to this horrible unnecessary violence.