Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: drunk and violent edition

The New York Times goes past demonizing kids with autism to look at the broader causes of gun violence.

A focus on mass murder, while critical, does not get at the broader issue of gun violence, including the hundreds of single-victim murders, suicides, nonfatal shootings and other gun crimes that occur daily in the United States. And focusing on the mentally ill, most of whom are not violent, overlooks people who are at demonstrably increased risk of committing violent crimes but are not barred by federal law from buying and having guns.

These would include people who have been convicted of violent misdemeanors including assaults, and those who are alcohol abusers. Unless guns are also kept from these high-risk people, preventable gun violence will continue.

A bout of depression might mean you're unable to buy a handgun, but a bout of denting someone's face? Eh... probably not.

Many people convicted of violent misdemeanors were originally charged with felonies but then convicted of lesser charges because of plea bargains. And research shows that people who have been convicted of any misdemeanors and who then legally buy a handgun are more likely to commit crimes after that gun purchase than buyers with no prior convictions.

Add in a system that ignores alcohol abuse, and the result is violent drunks have no trouble getting guns.

Alex Kotlowitz isn't as concerned about who causes violence, as the cost it inflicts on everyone.

We report on the killers and the killed, but we ignore those who have been wounded or who have witnessed the shootings. What is the effect on individuals ' especially kids ' who have been privy to the violence in our cities' streets?

I ask this somewhat rhetorically because in many ways we know the answer. We've seen what exposure to the brutality of war does to combat veterans. It can lead to outbursts of rage, an inability to sleep, flashbacks, a profound sense of being alone, a growing distrust of everyone around you, a heightened state of vigilance, a debilitating sense of guilt. ...

As Tim O'Brien says, it gets in your bones. In the wake of Hadiya Pendleton's shooting, we've talked about stiffer gun control laws, about better policing, about providing mentoring and after-school programs, all of which are essential. But missing from this conversation is any acknowledgment that the violence eats away at one's soul.

Come inside for some slightly (but only slightly) less violent punditry...