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As of August 5, which was the 217th day of the year, American has seen 255 mass shootings. In the past nine days, there was:
- A shooting in a historic district of Dayton, Ohio, with nine killed and 27 injured.
- A shooting at Walmart in El Paso, Texas, with 22 killed and at least 24 wounded.
- A shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area, with three killed and 15 injured.
- A shooting at a Brooklyn block party, with one killed and 11 injured.
- A shooting at a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi, with two killed and two injured.*
"Guns don't kill people; people kill people;" and
"If you take away their guns, killers will just find some other weapon;" and
"The world is a dangerous place, and I need a gun to protect myself and my family;" and
"The problem isn't too many guns; it's too few guns;" and
"Gun ownership is my Constitutional right;" and
"Mass murder is the price of freedom;" and
"These killings are God's punishment because America legalized gay marriage;"and
"Reports of mass shootings are just one more example of fake news."
There is now hope. It comes from the fact that America's powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, has been greatly weakened by internal scandals, combined with the fact that every mass killing is noticeably bringing the country that much closer to effective measures. Unfortunately, these measures will likely happen at the speed of women's equality in Saudi Arabia, and, of course, the people affected all have guns. How many guns? 393 million compared to a mere 133-million for all the armies on earth.**
*https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-shootings-2019-more-mass-shootings-than-days-so-far-this-year/
**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_ownership
