I've been watching the recent discussion on gun violence that has been pretty much dominating the news. I grew up going to gun shows in the States (Jane Fonda urinal stickers, anyone?) and have seen the extremes of both the right and left. More importantly, I have friends who are both gun enthusiasts as well as gun control advocates.

Quite frankly, the rest of the world thinks Americans* have a crazy gun policy. But then, we have entrenched policy organizations funded by our brisk trade in arms. Is it any wonder that the USA ranks the highest for gun deaths amongst industrialized nations?

Above is a comic I did over a decade ago for QuickDraw #4. I have just added it in to my archives, and think it remains fairly relevant after over a decade. Since then, I've been intrigued by initiatives that view gun crime and deaths as a public health issue.

A bipartisan idea that even the NRA could get behind: identifying the tiny percentage of shops that flood the market with 'crime guns'. http://wapo.st/a7LjrQ

Your comments are welcome.

Statistics:
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_gun_vio_hom_hom_wit_fir-crime-gun-violence-homicides-firearms
http://on.wsj.com/hrZ3jS

*When I say America, I mean the colloquial usage referring to the 'United States'. We tend to forget there is a whole 'nother continent down south.