Public Interest Podcast

This is the one hundred and fiftieth episode of Public Interest Podcast with Dr. Paul Locke, Associate Professor of Environmental Health and Engineering and Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an attorney admitted to practice law in DC, New York, and before the Supreme Court of the United States, a law professor at Lewis and Clark Law School, a former Duputy Director of the Trust for America's health, a member of the Board of the National Academy of Sciences Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the National Council on Radiation Protection. Dr. Locke speaks about the importance of doing some good everyday whether by facilitating robust business on Wall Street, protecting animals from inhumane treatment, or protecting society from the dangers of nuclear radiation or carbon-fuel-driven climate change.   Subscribe by Email Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

This is the one hundred and fiftieth episode of Public Interest Podcast with Dr. Paul Locke, Associate Professor of Environmental Health and Engineering and Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an attorney admitted to practice law in DC, New York, and before the Supreme Court of the United States, a law professor at Lewis and Clark Law School, a former Duputy Director of the Trust for America's health, a member of the Board of the National Academy of Sciences Institute for Laboratory Animal Research, and is a former member of the Board of Directors for the National Council on Radiation Protection. Dr. Locke speaks about the importance of doing some good everyday whether by facilitating robust business on Wall Street, protecting animals from inhumane treatment, or protecting society from the dangers of nuclear radiation or carbon-fuel-driven climate change.   Subscribe by Email Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Prasad Kariyawasam, Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, speaks about the political evolution of an independent Sri Lankan state from a British colony, through its decades of civil war, and up through its current form of democracy with its strong relationship with the West. Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Andris Teikmanis, Latvia's Ambassador to the U.S., former Mayor of Riga, and signer of the Latvian Constitution, speaks about his participation in the movement to liberate Latvia from the Soviet Union and how his efforts led to a subsequent political and diplomatic career. Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Al Carr, Maryland State Delegate [D-18], speaks about his work to improve our collective investment in public infrastructure projects. Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

This is the one hundred and forty-third episode of Public Interest Podcast with Jen Pauliukonis, President of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, former Maryland Chapter Lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, and a former high school educator who speaks about using data and science to support her legislative advocacy efforts to curb the evolving public health crisis caused by firearms.

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It

is an indisputable fact that guns fire bullets and that when bullets enter the

human body, one common result is the death of that person. Both gun rights

advocates and gun regulation advocates agree that gun violence is detrimental

to society and should be reduced. In essence, both groups wish to advance the

public interest by protecting the public’s health. The opposing groups only diverge

when it comes to their ideas of how society should go about trying to prevent

bullets from entering people’s bodies.

Generally

gun rights advocates argue that people kill people, essentially arguing that

guns are not lethal unless a person aims the gun and pulls the trigger. Gun

rights advocates believe that society will be safer if everyone were carrying a

gun at all times. The logic behind this sentiment is that violence will be

reduced because the lethal threat posed to would-be assassins, villains, and

thieves will act as a deterrent to acts of violence.

Advocates

for increased firearm regulation make the case that fewer bullets will enter

bodies, thus ending lives, if there are fewer bullets, fewer guns, and fewer

individuals authorized to have guns in society.

Yet

even many gun rights advocates will acknowledge that there are reasonable

limits to the rights afforded to Americans by virtue of the Second Amendment.

Most gun rights advocates will acknowledge that it is unwise for a toddler to

have access to a firearm. It would be similarly inappropriate for a violent

felon to be permitted access to a firearm or for the average citizen to have

the ability to walk into the office with a shoulder fired missile launcher.

There are limits to what sort of firearms should be available to whom, where,

and when.

The

argument advanced by gun rights advocates does fail to address how the current

rash of suicides ought to be prevented since having more people own guns will

not provide a deterrent to suicide.

According

to Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, each year there are 11,000 gun

homicides in the United States and there are an additional 20,000 gun suicides

during those same 12 months. If death by bullets is something to be avoided,

then it might be argued that our society would be better off if the number of

suicides in this nation were reduced, even if the number of suicide attempts

were to remain constant.

It

turns out that more women than men attempt suicide each year but more men are

successful in committing suicide because men are more likely than women to use

a firearm to commit suicide, which is a more fatal method of executing oneself

than other methods. Reducing access to guns would not eliminate suicides, but

it is possible that it could curb the number of suicides since suicide attempts

are sometimes impulsive acts that are instigated by an acute crisis that could

be mitigated given time. Firearm regulation advocates argue that their proposed

policies would provide that gift of time and, for some, life.

In

2013 the Maryland General Assembly passed the Firearm Safety Act. This law

required individuals who wished to purchase a handgun to obtain a license from

the state prior to the purchase. Since the overwhelming majority of gun

violence is committed with handguns, partially because they are easier to

conceal, the law, which is not meant to inconvenience long-gun hunters,

specifically makes it more difficult to obtain a handgun. To obtain a license

one must first pass a gun safety course, submit one’s fingerprints to law

enforcement authorities, pay a $50 fee, wait for the license to arrive in the

mail, and upon purchase, one must register the gun in a statewide

registry. 

Though

this process will not prevent someone who already owns a handgun from

impulsively committing an act of gun violence, it will prevent someone from

quickly acquiring a gun to do the same. According to the Johns Hopkins Center

for Gun Policy and Research, requiring a license to purchase a handgun will

reduce homicides by 40% and suicides by 15%.

In

sum, advocates for increased firearm regulation present data that supports

their position. After all, they argue, if more guns made us more safe, then

Baltimore City would be one of the safest cities in America and it clearly is

not.

This is the one hundred and fifty-sixth episode of Public Interest Podcast with Dr. Atul Grover, Executive Vice President of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), former Chief Public...

Good hearts make the world a better place

This is the one hundred and sixty-sixth episode of Public Interest Podcast with Kat Imhoff, President and CEO of James Madison's Montpelier, former State Director of The Nature Conservancy in...

Good hearts make the world a better place

This is the one hundred and sixty-fourth episode of Public Interest Podcast with Bart Tessler, Executive Vice President of News and Talk Programming at Westwood One, who speaks about the mechanics of...

Good hearts make the world a better place

This is the one hundred and seventy-second episode of Public Interest Podcast with Richard Heideman, Senior Counsel at Heideman, Nudelman, Kalik, PC, President of the American Zionist Movement, Chairman of the Israel Forever Foundation, former President of B'nai Brith International, former Chair of the Institute for Law and Policy at Hebrew University, the 2016 Trial Lawyer of the Year (Public Justice), and a Board member for ADL, AIPAC, Hillel, the World Zionist Organization, WJC, and at the American Israel Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Heideman speaks about his career advocating for victims of international terrorism, characterizing his work as a means of elevating human dignity in the pursuit of justice. Subscribe by Email Post from RICOH THETA. - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA