Every week, guns kill hundreds of members of our families, friends and neighbors in the U.S. Tens of thousands of people die from gun violence each year, costing us an estimated $557 billion every year. That’s the price we pay to ensure that every wannabe Rambo and 007 can prop up their deflated virility with a handgun or assault rifle.

Regardless of whether or not the Second Amendment was written to support the ownership of today’s killing machines, I’m quite certain that it is not my obligation to pay for the damage this indulgence costs each taxpayer who lives quite successfully without an assault rifle.

I propose that anyone feeling the need to own a weapon – beyond a long rifle used for traditional hunting – pay their share of the cost for gun violence for this indulgence. The cost should be split between the gun owners in the U.S. The people who want to support a culture where our kids must hide beneath desks, or we must fear for our lives when we walk into a store or nightclub, should have to pay for it; an annual tax for the right to perpetuate a culture of gun violence.

That way, the rest of us can use those hundreds of billions each year to support health care, child care, education or food for the one in eight children in this country who go hungry.

Steve Kelley
Kennebunk