Nevada CD4 candidate Bill Townsend releases policy on Guns & Violence in America

LAS VEGAS - May 7, 2018 - PRLog -- Nevada Congressional District 4 candidate Bill Townsend, released his policy on guns and violence, a comprehensive 17-page plan that addresses the root causes of violence in America.

"Perhaps there is no more polarizing topic in the news today than "gun control" and the call to ban  so-called "assault rifles", typically referring to the civilian sporting rifle AR-15. Unfortunately, inaccurate statements on the part of media, gun control advocates, and even gun rights supporters have muddled  the facts behind guns and violence in America," said Townsend. "When 78% of gun crimes are committed with a firearm that is stolen and so-called "assault rifle" killings make up about 0.0001% of the annual deaths in America, it is clear the media, gun control groups, and the people who back these groups are feeding inaccurate information at best and outright misinformation at worse to the public, making a truthful discussion on guns and violence nearly impossible.

As a lifetime member of the NRA and a 23-year concealed carry licensee who has undergone law enforcement training, it is imperative that I present Nevada's CD4 voters with a comprehensive action plan to combat violence in America," stated Townsend. "This plan provides a blueprint for a national discussion and action items to combat violence, including addressing the root causes along with potential solutions. Addressed in the plan are topics which include:

1. The FBI's NICS database is incomplete and, therefore, accurate background checks are not guaranteed.

2. Access to mental health treatment and care in America has been decimated.

3. Children and teens are over-medicated and the negative results are just now being seen (11% of US children are identified as having behavioral issues as compared to 1% in countries like the United Kingdom and Japan).

4. Violence on television, movies, online, and video games has pushed the glorification of violence resulting in numbness to the effects of tragedy.

5. Social media has proven to be a dangerous, anonymous outlet for people who wish to do harm to others, including bullying, theft, and assault. The same social media has resulted in teens spending approximately 9 hours a day on their phones which has led to less emotional development than previous generations.

6. Children who do not have a father in their life are at greater risk for committing acts of violence than those that have father's present (26 of the past 27 mass shooters came from fatherless homes).

7. Schools are ill-prepared to deal with troublesome at-risk students and even less prepared to deal with violence. We must provide children, the same levels of safety that we afford judges, pilots, government workers, and Members of Congress.

8. Measures must be enacted to improve laws while retaining 2nd Amendment rights.

"Every death is tragic for the family and loved ones of the victim, however, when death by firearm is viewed in the grand scheme of what is killing Americans, it is very low down the totem pole. If it weren't for the media splashing it across our television, computer, and smartphone screens every day, we'd hardly know it existed unless we were personally affected," said Townsend.

If you remove police shootings, self-defense, and accidents from the gun death tally, there are about 9,000 intentional killings with a firearm each year, or about 24 per day. By comparison, 3,470 kids attempt suicide each day and 22 succeed. Every day, 241 people die from alcohol-related deaths and 28 people die as a result of drunk driving. Though more people are affected by suicide and alcohol, Hollywood, the tech industry, and the liberal left don't picket, don't march, and refuse to hold their own industries accountable for the results of their movies, television shows, video games, and social media.

Of all gun deaths in 2017, 374 homicides were committed with a rifle, including so-called "assault rifles": just over 3 percent of the total firearms deaths and 0.0001% of the annual deaths in America.

The Townsend plan addresses the root causes behind mass shootings and violence, including lack of mental health treatment, the overuse of anti-psychotic prescription drugs, bullying, fatherless boys, Hollywood's and video game manufacturers' glorification of violence, and the destructive nature of social media.

Included in Townsend's plan is a program called "School Training And Readiness" program or "STAR", which based on a survey of  NRA members, teachers and education administrators has 98% support. STAR will fund the expansion of the FBI's background check system (NICS) to fix its deficiencies, fund safety education and facility security programs for schools across America, raising over $250 million a year for these initiatives.

"By stripping away the noise, we begin to understand what is driving violence in America and the data shows it is not the gun, but the person who is intent on committing crime or acts of violence," said Townsend. "The Townsend plan provides a thorough approach to lowering violence while ensuring American's Constitutional rights are not infringed."

The policy is available for download at:  https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/9b2a6167-65e9-4656-86d6-...