Guns Across America
Guns Across America
Guns Across America
The United States Supreme Court recently decreed that the right of Americans to bear arms, enshrined in the Second Amendment, was fundamental and absolute. In effect, state and local governments were enjoined from modifying that right in any manner. Not surprisingly conveniently ignoring the caveat that existing gun control rows would remain on the statute books - the judgement drew smug smiles from members of the National Rifle Association and scores of flag-waving "patriots" who believe that owning firearms is one of the factors that makes America "the greatest country in the world".
To many people living outside the USA, this American fascination with guns is quite bewildering. It's almost as if Americans are stuck in a time warp and yet to emerge from the Wild West decades. This perception is reinforced by television police shows, where the cops' first instinct in any situation is to pull out their pistols and open fire at the slightest provocation. Yes, the routine chestnuts like "guns don't kill people, people kill people" are trotted out as justification, but the statistics speak for themselves. Taking the United States, Canada and entire Europe as a whole, nine of the ten deadliest random shootings in recent years took place in the United States. The people of Europe do not have a Constitutional right to bear arms; and it does not seem to bother them. The countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland combined with a land area equal to one third of the continental United States have a grand total of less than 10 murders a year. You can do the math.
A common American argument is that people need guns to protect themselves against criminals or crazies who themselves use guns. But Americans never take the next step - if guns were illegal the criminals and crazies wouldn't have them either. Some would argue that criminals would continue to procure guns, even if it was made illegal. Fair enough; except that hardly any of these senseless massacres are carried out by career criminals. Most the perpetrators are seemingly normal young men, as American as apple pie, but with a very low tolerance level. When a gun is available so handily and so easy to obtain it is very tempting to use it to settle scores, real or imagined. Think Columbine: think Virginia Tech: think Denver where a man randomly shot down 6 bystanders in 2007.
Disturbed individuals are not restricted to America, of course. They exist all over the world. The difference is that, outside the US, they can go only so far to express their rage and frustration. I'm sure some of them would love to shoot down a few of their perceived tormentors, but they cannot for the simple reason that they cannot lay their hands on a handgun or rifle. Surprising as it may seem to many Americans, guns in private homes are a rarity in most countries outside their borders. In America, however, guns are almost part of the furniture in many households. It has always seemed slightly weird to me that parents are very strict about their teenage kids drinking alcohol, but have no compunction about them having access to a firearm. I believe some even take pride in teaching young Bobby to shoot, and brag about his prowess with a rifle. Some parents would disclaim that they keep their guns securely locked away but, realistically, a young man desperate enough to contemplate murder will somehow find a way to get hold of his dad's rifle or handgun. A home is not Fort Knox, after all.
I would willingly concede that the act of owning a gun is not, in itself, inherently wrong if, that is, the owners are all normal people who have a strong sense of responsibility. Now I do not doubt that the majority of Americans are responsible and mature, but irresponsible and emotionally disturbed people exist in every society. Of course, guns did not make them irresponsible or disturbed. However, guns did give them a way to express their anger; in a way that causes irreparable harm to their victims and their families. As the number of people who own guns increases, so the likeliness of fatal shootings rises with it. Anyone who owns a gun is contributing, albeit indirectly, to that statistic. That said, America seems so obsessed with guns and gun ownership, it is such an ingrained aspect of their culture, that it seems to me a lost battle. American citizens will never disarm themselves.
Owning a gun is a big deal. Do you suppose individual liberties and constitutional rights mean didley-squat, for example, to the parents of the young students, whose lives were so needlessly and indiscriminately snuffed out at Virginia Tech? A handgun or rifle in the hands of a mentally unstable individual isa weapon of mass destruction.
I think Bob Dylan said it best, when he asked:
"How many deaths will it take till they know
That too many people have died"
The answer, my, friend, is indeed blowing in the wind; but no one is listening. That is the real tragedy.
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