I want you to understand the deep connection that the issue of guns and gun violence has with the work of the Luskin School of Public Affairs. Among the other focuses is a focus on Mental Health. Guns are the single biggest killer of women. They are the single biggest cause of successful suicide. It turns out people may try to take their own life more often than we would like, and its a tragedy, but we are not very good at it unless there is a gun present. If there is a gun present, the possibility of fatalities skyrocket. Guns tear at the fabric of american society, but as you will hear in tonights lecture, you can argue that they are written into the fabric of american society, or at least so their advocates and manufacturers would tell us. We will talk a bit more about that. Its also important to understand that guns are a racial issue. Put succinctly, as the Second Amendment is for white people. When more than 100 armed men descend on the kentucky state capital, nothing happens. If