A WAY TO REDUCE MASS SHOOTINGS!

2 PARAGRAPHS 4 LIBERTY: #392

What follows is my Letter to the Editor that was published in the Orange County Register on Wednesday, November 30, 2022:

“Mass Shootings across the Country and the Media’s Responsibility for Copycats:”

As we all know our country tragically is experiencing a large number of wanton shootings. I agree that we are not often able effectively to restrict the availability of guns, but there really is something that you in the media can do appreciably to reduce the number of these shootings.

And that is never to print or publish either the name or the picture of the shooter.

Why? Because a strong case can be made that many of these shootings are copycat with a desire to have their one big moment of fame.

So it is still fine to describe the shooters and where they come from, their background and even the circumstances of the shootings, but do not publish their names or pictures. That will take away some incentives and, thus, reduce the number of occurrences. Of course, being a Libertarian and adhering to the Constitution, I strongly believe in your First Amendment rights to publish that information but, also as a Libertarian, I believe in Freedom of Choice and Responsibility.

So you can show your leadership and make the public commitment never to publish that information again.

And, who knows, maybe other responsible periodicals will follow your lead.

So now, our 2 Paragraphs Family, I request your personal assistance in pursuing this approach with your local newspapers and other media outlets. As has been written numbers of times in this series, it is our government and, if it is not working, we have no one to blame but ourselves. And if you do submit a letter to the editor on this subject I openly give you the authority to modify or use this one as your own. In this case, plagiarism is good – and welcome!

Question for the week from an attorney in one of my mediations: Why do cows wear bells? Because their horns don’t work . . . .