How Gun Control Zealots Ignore the Truth about Gun Violence

Episode 162 Show Notes- How Gun Control Zealots Ignore the Truth about Gun Violence

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Episode Description

Professor Giordano focuses briefly on vaccine passports and then exposes the power-hungry zealots who ignore the truth about gun violence. Exploiting crises, and using fear, the government continues to exert increasing authority and push Constitutional boundaries. There are many who have actively and passively given the government the green light to manage all aspects of our lives. The question becomes how much are you willing to give up for the illusion of safety while allowing the government to have nearly total control over our lives?

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Show Transcript- How Gun Control Zealots Ignore the Truth about Gun Violence

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Intro

Welcome everyone to another episode of The PAS Report Podcast.

As always, this is an extremely important episode. Just when I think the government power grab can’t get any worse, it does. Over the last two weeks, we witnessed two mass shootings. One in Atlanta, and the other in Colorado.

Of course, there are those who quickly swooped in to exploit these crises in order to push a radical gun control agenda. They ignore the truth about gun violence and manipulate the data for power and control.

But here at The P.A.S. Report I provide the truth about gun violence. I provide the information you need to make an informed decision. Once again, it doesn’t matter where you stand on the issues. Facts are facts, and it was Ben Shapiro, at least I think it was, that said, “facts don’t care about feelings.”

So no matter where you stand on the issue, you need to know the truth about gun violence. The power-hungry zealots, while they are mostly morons, they have done an amazing job at exploiting emotions. However, when we make decisions based on emotions, we fail to realize what’s really happening.

On Monday’s episode, I stated that I would be focusing exclusively on the truth about gun violence and gun rights, but things change. Before I get into the gun debate, I briefly want to discuss this idea of vaccine passports that the tyrannical state of New York is going to attempt to implement.

And I want to discuss this briefly because it ties into the overall theme and trends of what we have been witnessing over the last several years, where the government continues to increase its power and authority in the name of crises.

They manipulate the masses with the illusion of safety and security, because that’s what it is, an illusion, but a line has been crossed that can’t be ignored.

If this trend continues, we will find ourselves at a point of no return. And I’ll remind everyone, while I’m open about my conservative beliefs, this is not about political ideology. I want you to separate that out and it doesn’t matter where you fall on the political-ideological spectrum.

Have an open-mind, and to everyone out there, no matter what your political ideology, an all-powerful government will end badly for everyone.

Before I jump in, go to The P.A.S. Report website. Sign up for The P.A.S. Report Newsletter and make sure to follow the podcast so you never miss an episode.

Vaccine Passports

This is a red alert, and I have a link up at The P.A.S. Report to the article in the show transcript (USA Today). The tyrannical state of New York has developed something called the Excelsior Pass. This Pass is nothing more than a passport vaccine that acts as a certificate to get access to large-scale events.

According to the report, the Pass will allow people to “prove their health status with a digital QR code.”

But there’s more than meets the eye here. First of all, I want you to consider that for large events, we don’t have to provide any proof of vaccinations for much more serious diseases like measles. While we may have to provide proof to local school districts, my health, and that of my children, is none of the government’s damn business. It’s obvious we no longer care about HIPAA and privacy when it comes to healthcare.

However, there is something far more dubious happening. Once again, we have to look beyond the surface level and use our ability to critically think about what’s really going on. You have the tech companies pushing this crap, and the politicians are gleefully welcoming it. These tech giants realize how much money they could make with a program like this, and how that business can expand exponentially.

If you think the Communist Chinese surveillance state isn’t here, think again. And remember it was our tech companies that served as the impetus for the Chinese surveillance state. Now they want to bring it here.

This passport will tie into the idea of a social credit system that’s already being built out. Shut up, obey, and comply, and your social credit score will increase. The government will reward you with perks. Perks like allowing you into large events or holding a wedding party. Ask questions, challenge the government and the powers that be, and your social credit score will decrease. You will be punished for noncompliance. You won’t be able to get into venues or have a wedding party. Insubordination will not be tolerated.

If this goes into effect, and people don’t pushback to kill this initiative, trust me, it’s just the beginning.

According to the report, this Pass will be “useful to a public health standpoint and could eventually be expanded to cover flu and measles shots.” Think about that a second. The flu has been around forever, and now they want the potential to expand this app to cover something we’ve lived with forever.

This won’t lead to a slippery slope. This is the slippery slope. What’s to say that sooner or later it won’t be used for obesity. Obesity will kill far more people than coronavirus. What would prevent the government and the healthcare industry to use this at restaurants, particularly fast-food joints, to force obese people to eat healthly? Or to use it for diabetics or people with heart disease?

Open your eyes and realize that it’s even more dubious than you think. Officials acknowledge that this is not the American way, and they know there will be resistance to this type of initiative. From the report, “We are ideologically as a culture pretty resistant to the idea of mandates unless it’s kids.”

And that’s it right there. They want to exploit kids as a way to roll it out to the broader society. If they can implement this at schools at the local level, it will go mainstream in no time, and there are schools already dabbling in this, particularly in California.

There’s also talk about linking it to your driver’s license. This is insane and needs to be stopped now. The government has gone well beyond its mandate, and we are in dangerous territory.

And for all those people who have blindly complied with the authoritarian edicts so far. For all those who scream about the importance of saving lives and try to shame anyone who asks questions. I have a question for you, and it’s a serious question. I want you to think to yourself.

At what point do you begin to get concerned with government overreach? At what point will you say that the government is going too far? At what point do you wake up and realize this is not about saving lives, but about control? And how much are you willing to give up in order to grant the government total control?

Don’t lie to yourself saying this will never happen. Don’t lie to yourself and say I’m exaggerating because I’m not. Just look at what’s happened over the last year and wake up.

And I want you to also consider this. We’ve been told that showing an ID disenfranchises people, particularly minorities, from voting. It’s why the Democrats claim they oppose Voter ID laws, yet they have no problem creating a vaccine passport that will need to be used to go places in our society. And here’s the ultimate irony. In order to get the vaccine, you need to show proof of identification, meaning you have to show an ID.

Exploiting Gun Violence

And this leads me to the topic of guns now because we have a number of officials who are exploiting the mass shooting events in Georgia and Colorado. Once again, it’s not really in the name of public health or saving lives even though that’s what they say. But it’s about power.

These power-hungry zealots manipulate the truth about gun violence in order to advance radical policies aimed at taking firearms out of the hands of law-abiding ordinary Americans. That’s the end goal.

But I’m going to give you the truth about gun violence. I’m going to break down the numbers and show you what’s really going on. If you are someone who supports the idea of gun rights, use these facts when you’re debating.

For those of you who support gun control, that’s your right, but you too need to recognize what’s going on here.

We are about to see the most radical gun agenda this country has ever witnessed, and this administration will seek to bypass Congress where they can and govern firearms through Executive Order. More on that in a bit.

The Truth About Gun Violence

First, let’s examine the truth about gun violence because there are ideological partisans that ignore facts. This is a reminder that the focus needs to be on mass shootings as these incidents are what drives the debate. If it wasn’t for mass shootings, this would be a nonissue.

I’ve done extensive research, and everything in the show transcript is sourced. I use the government’s own data when it comes to the truth about gun violence. Here are the facts about gun violence:

1) Using the CDC database, the number of firearm deaths between 2008-2017 averages 34,293. (CDC) While this number may seem high, it’s misleading to use this number as we have to break it down.

2) Using the same ten-year data set from 2008-2017, the average rate of suicide by firearm is 20,837. (CDC). So, 60.76% of all gun deaths are suicides.

Middle-aged males make up the largest group to commit suicide. (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)

The media and punditry class mislead the American people by continually including the suicide numbers in the gun violence stats. There are too many assumptions:
- You can’t assume gun control laws would affect this population. Many of these individuals purchased their firearms years before depression or a mental health condition began, and many would have passed any background investigations.
- By using these numbers, you would have to assume that the 20,837 would not have found any other means to commit suicide.

When we take out the suicide numbers, the death by firearm rate drops to 13,456 people a year.

3) The unintentional firearm deaths must also be removed as these were accidents, and you can’t assume gun control laws would have prevented these deaths. Using the same data set from 2008-2017, the average number of unintentional firearm deaths is 532 people per year. (CDC)

This would drop the death by firearm rate to 12,924.

4) According to FBI data, the average number of homicides by firearm from 2008-2017 is 10,387 including those deaths that occurred for legitimate self-defense purposes. (FBI)

5) According to the University of Pittsburgh, 79% of those arrested for gun crimes were in illegal possession of a firearm. (Washington Post) A John Hopkins study put the number at about 65%.

These guns could be stolen or obtained on the black market.

The study did have its limits and did not look at murders alone. Rather it looked at all gun crimes.

Gun laws are not going to force criminals to obtain guns in a legal way or prevent guns from getting into the hands of ordinary criminals.

Using a median average of the two studies, we can put the number of deaths by illegal firearms at 7,479.

This leaves us with an annual number of firearm deaths of 2,908 people.

6) Now let’s look at justifiable homicides. Justifiable homicides are those killed by law enforcement officers and private citizens who killed a perpetrator in self-defense or commission of a felony. I will use the FBI’s own numbers and the same data-set years from 2008-2017.

Looking at these years, the number of justifiable homicides by private citizens averages 251 people per year. (FBI 2008-2012, FBI 2013, FBI 2014-2018)

If we take out the justifiable homicides at the hands of law enforcement, the numbers drop even further. The average number of justifiable homicides per year is about 421 people per year. (FBI 2008-2012, FBI 2013, FBI 2014-2018)

So, when we account for justifiable homicides our number is further reduced to 2,236.

8) Most of those 2,236 people who died by firearms are victims of domestic violence. Given my limited resources, it is impossible to determine what percentage could have been prevented by gun control laws as it would require looking into each individual case, and I don’t have that amount of time or resources.

10) But if we are honest, the reason we have the gun control debate is due to mass shootings, more specifically school shootings and mass shootings at public places. Definitions vary widely on what constitutes a mass shooting. I use the FBI data because it is the most credible source.

From 2000-2018, there were 277 mass shootings that fit into this category of which 884 people were killed, and 1,546 were wounded.

Looking at the fatalities, it averages approximately 47 people dying per year in active shooter incidents. (FBI)

Perspective is Key

When talking about radically overhauling our gun laws, let’s put the 47 deaths a year in perspective.

Being a country of 329 million people, where according to the Congressional Research Service, 310 million firearms are owned, it shows that Americans are largely responsible when it comes to firearms. If there were a real gun epidemic, the numbers would be off the charts.

Every day, 29 people will die from drinking and driving (CDC), and 88,000 per year will die from alcohol-related causes (National Institute of Health)- Banning alcohol will save a lot more lives.

Cigarettes, the largest preventable death, kill a whopping 480,000 people each year. (CDC)- Instead of taxing the hell out of cigarettes, why not just outright ban them?

467 people will be killed each year by blunt force objects including hammers and clubs (FBI)

1,591 will be killed by stabbings each year (FBI)

Some people will argue these are red herring arguments, but how so? If we are talking about saving lives, why don’t we care about victims who’ve died because of drunk drivers, smoking, obesity, or opioids? It’s in the name of saving lives.

Historical perspective is important as well

Another interesting fact that many fail to explore is past history regarding mass shootings. Once again, it goes directly to our inability to think critically, but we have to understand our past so that we can identify the real reason why we see an increase in mass shootings.

The same high-powered weapons that exist today have existed for over a half-century. The AR-15 has been in the news because of its use in a few mass shootings, yet this firearm has existed since 1959. (NPR)

We didn’t have any real gun laws until the 1980s. Before 1986, there were three major gun laws, mostly dealing with licensing firearm dealers, and in 1968, preventing the sale of bombs, mines, grenades, and fully automatic machine guns. (Time)

At the same time, the percentage of households with firearms has declined over the decades. According to a University of Chicago study, in 1973, 47% of American households had firearms, whereas 31% of households had firearms in 2014. (University of Chicago)

No one asks the question- Before the 1990s, when we had virtually no real gun laws, and we had a handful of mass shootings. Starting in the late 1990s, we began to see extensive gun laws and an increase in mass shootings.

That doesn’t make sense. Haven’t we been told that if we pass more gun control laws, mass shootings will decrease? This illustrates that something deeper is going on.

The reality is that stricter gun laws would not have impacted most of the mass shootings as most mass shooters followed the laws, had clean backgrounds, and purchased at least one firearm long before the mass shooting.

That’s not to say that no gun laws have merit. Mental health, punishing parents if their kids get access to their firearms, and other things can all be discussed. However, it is a lie that if we just pass gun laws, mass shootings will stop.

There are many who make it as if a law will be the silver bullet (no pun intended) for this problem. Considering that most of the mass shootings that we witness are done by perpetrators with little to no criminal history. Most of these individuals would pass background investigations.

Gun Laws

But according to the powers that be, we have to do something. We need to stop the rash of mass shootings. We constantly hear about so-called common-sense gun laws that will prevent mass shootings, but what happens when they implement these so-called common-sense gun laws, and the next mass shooting occurs? Because it would only be a matter of time before the next mass shooting happens. One of the things most people support is closing the third-party loophole. That’s fine, but let’s be honest that wouldn’t have stopped any of the mass shootings.

The laws or executive actions will only give a false sense of security. The illusion of safety until the next mass shooting happens. So, what then?

To all the people that believe in gun control, but aren’t the crazy zealots, do you think officials will say that they did everything they could to prevent and limit mass shootings and we can’t pass any more laws, or do you think they will push for far more draconian laws, including the possibility of mandatory gun buybacks?

Once again, we have to think deeper and not just at the superficial BS.

So, if we are going, to be honest, one of the only ways to limit and/or prevent firearms from getting in the hands of these mass shooters would be for a nationwide gun confiscation policy. Obviously, I am not advocating this at all.

The scary part is that we are about to witness a whole slew of laws be introduced by Congress and the Biden administration has already announced their intent to push through gun control by executive actions. In nearly all aspects of our society, we are witnessing complete disregard for our Constitution, and even worse, the dismantling of the Constitution.

The Biden administration has been mum on exactly what they plan on rolling out, but there is a lot of talk about creating a national gun registry, where the federal government would have access to a whole host of information on individuals that own and possess firearms.

How long before they tie in this data with the vaccine passport that I spoke about earlier. And when all the measures they try end up failing, they will talk about the need to remove firearms from society. And of course, they will say that they are doing it in the name of saving lives. That’s what they do.

It’s not a gun problem. It’s a cultural problem

Guns are not the problem, and guns don’t make people become killers. It’s deeper than that. We have to examine what’s happening in our society where there is a complete disregard for human life. If we want to find the actual root causes of the problem, we need to look at the modern-day mass shooter as their enough similarities between the perpetrators to give us the answers.

The 1998 Columbine shooting is where the modern mass shooter profile really emerged. The trends among modern-day mass shooter are disturbing.

Similarities

Mass shooters are overwhelmingly men. According to FBI data, out of the 250 mass shootings that I identified earlier from 2000-2017, only nine were perpetrated by females. That’s only 3%.

According to the FBI Active Shooter Incidents from 2000-2018, the average age of a mass shooter is 34-years old. (FBI) If we focus on school shootings alone (this is why we have the debate), the average age is between 18-20.

Sticking with school shootings, the largest factors in school shootings are
- 24% motivated by a desire for attention or recognition.
- 27% motivated by suicide or desperation.
- 34% motivated by an attempt to solve a problem.
- 54% had multiple motives.
- 61% motivated by the desire for revenge.
- 75% felt bullied/persecuted/threatened by others (FBI)

Mass shooters (American Counseling Association)
- 88% had very few close friends.
- 63% were interested in violent movies and video games.
- 78% had a history of suicide attempts and mental health conditions.
- 71-87% faced bullying.

Generational differences

Things like bullying are nothing new, and it’s fair to ask why kids from the ’50s to the early ’90s didn’t engage in mass shootings? What’s changed since then?

Violent Video Games

Over 95% of children will play violent video games and not become mass shooters, but although the overwhelming majority will not become school shooters, many school shooters had a tendency towards violence and played violent video games.

The video games and graphics have evolved from Frogger to Mario Brothers to Street Fighter to Grand Theft Auto. As the graphics became real, the violence became real. What benefit does a game like GTA have to a society where you are a bad guy that can beat and kill cops, prostitutes, and innocent people?

This doesn’t mean that anyone playing these types of games will engage in violence. The overwhelming majority will never engage in violent behavior. But we have to recognize that these games devalue human life as they become more real.

Even our military has recognized this. We have created killer drones using the same controllers from the gaming platforms. Why would they do that? While no one states this publicly, we have to wonder if the military utilizes these joysticks in order to make it as if the soldier is playing a video game, rather than engaging in tactical warfare. Essentially, this takes humanity out of war and makes the taking of human life as if it’s a video game.

Television Shows & Movies

Television shows and movies have evolved as well. Growing up, I watched shows like Saved by the Bell, Charles in Charge, and Growing Pains. Every episode was a moral lesson where someone would do something wrong, and by the end, they learned what they did wrong, and it was a teachable moment. It was a way to try and instill morality in society.

If you look at shows today, the lines have been blurred between good and bad. It is difficult to be able to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Take shows like 24, Gotham, or Lethal Weapon. I enjoyed these shows, and for the entertainment value, they were great. But when we look at the main characters, they engage in the same bad behavior as the bad guys. They commit heinous acts in the name of justice and engage in behaviors that are just as bad as the villains they’re chasing down. Essentially, the ends justify the means. What about shows like the Sopranos that romanticize the Italian mafia, and organized crime. Where the bad guys actually become the ones who we are rooting for.

Again, 99.9% of people that watch these programs will never engage in violence or become mass shooters. However, we need to examine how these programs impact those suffering from mental health issues, particularly younger people whose brains have not fully developed.

Mental Health Issues & Medications

Why are kids more stressed out today? Why do more kids today suffer from anxiety and depression compared to previous generations? Why do those between the ages of 18-25 have a higher rate of depression, bipolar disorder, and anxiety? (National Institute of Health)

Today more kids are feeling “empty” and “miserable.” The CDC says that 1 in 5 American children ages 3-17 have a “diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder.” (NBC News) And that number was prior to the coronavirus. Mental health issues, particularly among the youth, have gotten dramatically worse because of all the draconian and authoritarian edicts of lockdowns and masks.

The mental health crisis in the United States is real. Unfortunately, we lie to ourselves and live in a culture where we say stuff makes us happy, and the more stuff we have, the happier we’ll be. Well, the science is in and it is overwhelmingly clear that all the “stuff” we have is not making us happier. People growing up in the ’40s, ’50s 60’s and the ’70s had far less than the generations of today. Steak and air conditioning were luxuries. There was no such thing as gaming systems. Households had one television. Most families had one car.

It is interesting to see that as we acquired more and more stuff, we get more and more depressed. Could it be because previous generations had a much greater appreciation for what little they may have had? Could it be that we felt like we were part of a community, a family, and now many feel isolated and alone?

Once again, 99% of those who suffer from a mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression, will never commit an act of violence. And we must ensure that we don’t stigmatize mental health illnesses.

But it would be foolish if we ignore the common theme amongst many of the mass shooters where they had a mental health condition, whether they were diagnosed prior to or following the mass shooting incident.

Many were socially awkward and had few close friends, and many were bullied. The warning signs are usually there, and after most school shootings, it is rare for the victims to say that the shooter was an outgoing, warm, well-like person. (NPR)

Rise of the internet and social media

It is undeniable that the internet and social media have played a role in shaping the modern-day mass shooter. Once again, it doesn’t mean every person using the internet, and social media will become a killer. Most won’t. But we have to recognize the obvious. The internet emerged and became mainstream in the mid-1990s. As the internet gained in popularity, mass shootings increased. The same holds true for social media. Social media begins to gain popularity in the early-2000’s and then explodes in 2006 with the development of the iPhone and apps.

The ability for shootings to go viral, and for the shooter to get instant fame, can be enough for someone suffering from a mental illness to trigger a mass shooting incident. Several studies are now validating this point. (Social Media’s Influence on Frequency of Incidents)

Also, nearly every school shooter was active on social media and had disturbing posts that could have foretold of the threat the person was. (ABC News)

It seems like a vicious cycle. We go online, and nothing is real. We look at other people’s lives and think about how wonderful their life appears to be. Human nature gets the best of us, and these susceptible individuals may begin to feel anger, resentment, jealousy, and even rage. The internet can speak to the worst human characteristics. As many of the school shooters could be considered loners, how much screen time did they have? I don’t have an answer, but it is an important question that should have been explored several years ago.

Another problem with the internet and social media are that we begin to lose human-to-human connections? What happens when communication morphs from human-human to human-machine-human? Do we begin to lose a piece of humanity? Do we begin to do away with the idea that human life is precious?

Little to do with guns

The truth about gun violence is out there. Instead of just going to the knee-jerk reaction of looking to the government to solve a problem they can’t, let’s get to the root causes of the problem, and then craft legislation to tackle the real issue when it comes to these mass shootings.

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Closing

Remember, the same people screaming that we should take firearms away from law-abiding Americans are the same ones who want to deem what businesses are essential and which one aren’t with no regard for people’s livelihoods. The same ones who want to take away the firearms, are the same people who want to dictate that you have to wear a mask and stay six-feet apart. The same people who want to pass draconian gun laws are the same ones that want to force you to have a vaccine passport that determines where you can and cannot go. Many of these people are the same ones pushing critical race theory which amounts to nothing more than brainwashing children as young as preschool with racist sentiments.

Do you notice the common trend? It’s not about security. It has nothing to do with saving lives. It has nothing to do with safety or the concept of justice. Understand that the powers that be, the ruling class, only care about two things. It’s all designed for power and control.

They see themselves as righteous moral holy warriors that know better than ordinary people. They believe that we, the peasant class, are too ignorant to determine what’s best for ourselves and the communities we live in. They believe they can raise your children better than you can.

You need to always be wary of the public virtue signalers. Be wary of those who believe they are morally superior. Be suspicious of these people and understand they don’t have our best interests in mind.

As always, share this podcast with others and keep the ratings and reviews coming. If you’re listening on an Apple device, Podchaser, or any other podcast platform that allows reviews, please take 30-seconds to provide a 5-star rating and write a quick review.

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I want to thank you for joining me and I want you to stay safe.

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