“As U.S. Guns Pour Into Canada, the Bodies Pile Up”
(New York Times headline on Dec. 21, 2025)
Can’t remember where, but recently I read that a functioning state must have a “monopoly on violence.” At first I found it shocking. It sounded so reductive. On reflection, it made sense.
A viable state has a military component for national defense and a policing component to counter criminality. Such institutions should be a prudently held state monopoly. Who wants to live in a country where private armies and private police forces exist?
The U.S. is impaired because a large segment of its populace is heavily armed. There are more arms and munitions in private American hands than there are hands. Policing is militarized as a result. Officers face being gunned down while performing their jobs. Life is more dangerous for everyone, including tourists.
Shall we pray for a no-shots-fired January? It would be revolutionary.
(c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
EthicalDative 
The US firearms issue seems to be unsolvable – no matter how many guns people own or murders there are every year. Here in Australia, as a consequence of the terrible (by Australian standards) shootings at Sydney just before Christmas, there are moves to tighten restrictions on the number and types of guns that an individual can own. But there is pushback from the gun lobby of course. I hope things change in the US – many things!
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An appeals court has just ruled California’s ban on open carry of firearms “unconstitutional.” That’s where we are.
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Not good at all. It’s unconscionable.
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