Today's Must-Read: Shut Down the Pump!

From Digby, in the wake of another shooting*, a solid take on gun control laws and why we need them:

On 7 September 1854, Snow took his research to the town officials and convinced them to take the handle off the pump, making it impossible to draw water. The officials were reluctant to believe him, but took the handle off as a trial only to find the outbreak of cholera almost immediately trickled to a stop. Little by little, people who had left their homes and businesses in the Broad Street area out of fear of getting cholera began to return.

It took many more years before it was widely accepted that cholera came from the water. (In fact, it took a priest trying to prove that it was God's will to finally do it!)

But here's the relevant takeaway: they didn't need to cure the disease to end the epidemic. What ended it was shutting down the pump.

(Emphasis in original.)

Yes, it really is about gun control. Read it.

* The Republicans, of course, are blaming the Democrats' "violent rhetoric" for the shooting, which targeted a Republican congressman. I'm not going to list them -- they all fall under the category of disgusting people -- but all you need to do is surf a bit. The New Civil Rights Movement has several stories on this.