First there is the shooting in Aurora, CO. What can one say?<\/strong><\/p>\n Except to express the shock and sadness we all feel for those lost and hurt, their families, and everyone else affected by this tragedy. This hits close to home \u2013 close enough at least \u2013 as my mom, Ronnie, grew up in Aurora and my sister, Eve, currently lives just a few miles from there. My sister\u2019s friend, Kirk Siegler, is a reporter in the area currently covering the story for NPR and its affiliates<\/a>\u00a0(and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n One of my cousins living nearby in Denver expressed her wishes that we could once and for all control guns, while a friend and fellow blogger suggested we get serious about mental health in America. I tend to agree more with the latter, along with the fact that deeper societal issues need to be addressed<\/strong>, and discussions with my mom and sister only solidified that.<\/p>\n On the discussion of\u00a0questions of gun control<\/a>, I sometimes diverge sharply from Buddhists and political liberals. I agree, in essence, with those who say \u201cit\u2019s not guns that kill people, it\u2019s people.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet my reasoning, I believe, places me right back in the camp of Buddhists and liberals.<\/p>\n I come from Montana and had my first gun around the age of 9<\/strong>, a pump action pellet gun. The neighborhood kids and I would sit on my next-door neighbor\u2019s back porch and shoot soda cans off posts on his fence. We were supervised. We learned, respected, and followed safety rules. I hunted for a couple years as a teen, and I joined my father at the \u201ctrap club\u201d for clay-pigeon shooting, a pass-time the family still enjoys.<\/p>\n I was also moved by Michael Moore\u2019s movie, Bowling for Columbine<\/a>, made in 2002 after the deadly shootings at a Columbine high school, just a few miles from Aurora. In it he made the point that Canadians have as many guns, per capita, as Americans<\/a>, yet still live in remarkable peace and safety. It turns out not to be true, however, as Americans have 90 guns per 100 people, while Canadians have a paltry 30<\/a>. Yet, another look at gun statistics \u2013 how many guns per capita per state, as measured by federally regulated background checks<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 shows us that the \u2018big gun\u2019 states are mostly rural and generally not known for gun-violence. Montana ranks #2 in per capita gun ownership, Colorado is 14th, and California, known for its gangs and riots, is #44th. But that, of course, is just legal guns.<\/p>\n But even if you put the data side by side on national ownership and deaths, where US is #1 in both, you might expect that countries with 50% as many gun owners would have 1\/2 as many deaths by gun violence, those with 33% to have 1\/3, and so on. But that isn\u2019t the case (gun related deaths per year<\/a>). Switzerland, #4 in terms of gun ownership at almost exactly half as many guns per person, represents an interesting case to look at<\/a> with less than one<\/strong> yearly gun-death per 100,000 people.<\/p>\n I spoke with my mother and sister this week to see what they thought. When I raised the question of tougher laws to my sister, she said, \u201cI don\u2019t think it would have prevented it\u2026 If someone is bound and determined to do something like this, they will find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n My mother echoed this, saying that \u201cPeople can get the guns if they want them\u2026 We need to focus on other things.\u201d<\/p>\n To the people, the culture, the fear and hatred lying at the roots of all violence.<\/p>\n![\"shotgun-yoga-montana\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/83\/2012\/07\/shotgun-yoga-montana-300x224.jpg\" "\\"shotgun-yoga-montana\\"")
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