The US is a violent country and we are almost completely unwilling to try to do something about it. We treat the 2nd amendment as if it is holy writ. Charles Blow has a very good piece in today’s NY Times that shows how unusual the US is. The US has a level of gun violence that would fit in perfectly with much of the third world but compared to other developed countries we are off the scale. The gun homicide rate in the US is 4 times any country in Western Europe and it is much higher than the average European country. (Fans of gun ownership often talk about Switzerland and how safe it is there despite all the guns. Switzerland has the highest gun homicide rate in Western Europe.)
Many gun ownership advocates assume more guns means a safer society. There is some evidence that an expectation of gun ownership deters some criminals from breaking into occupied dwellings. In Britain break-ins of occupied dwelllings are much higher than in the US (those break-ins don’t seem to result in violence). That doesn’t negate the other data that seems to show that more guns means more violence. Where I half agree with the gun rights advocates is that the US has so many guns already that any attempt at gun control would not make much of an immediate difference.
I don’t know if it would ever be possible to get the gun violence rate in the US down to near European levels. If we passed new gun laws that wouldn’t eliminate the guns already in private hands. Still, we need to do something to stop letting mentally ill young men (it is very rarely women) have access to high powered guns and ammunition.
This is a very complex issue. On the one side you have the “gung-ho” gun enthusiasts who believe that any gun control is bad. On the other side, you have those who would ban all guns. There has to be a happy medium. We do not own guns. Never have and probably never will. My personal opinion is that assault weapons should be banned from civilians. Multiple round guns are not needed for civilian use. Owning a gun for hunting and personal protection is fine, if the person is responsible and obeys the laws. Collecting antique guns is fine, if it’s legal. The other issue is the mental health concerns. It seems that most of the multiple shootings lately have been done by mentally unstable young men. They somehow slip through the cracks and don’t get the help/treatment they need. Another issue is a parent who has guns in the house where a mentally unstable young person resides. So many things need to be changed. With this last horrific shooting in CT, I am hoping that something gets passed which will make a difference. The nuts out there who think that President Obama is out to take away their guns are thinking unrealistically. No one wants to take all of their guns. President Obama wants to enact legislation which will enable those who are unstable NOT to be able to obtain firearms. There’s a huge difference. It’s not all black & white. There are many shades of gray.
Shawnne Mc Kenna
Long Prairie MN