Over the last few weeks we have witnessed a number of mass shootings in America. And even though a number of young lives have been lost, it seems that the American love affair with guns will not end. We have probably also seen circulated across Facebook or what ever social media you follow statistics showing how many people die in America due to guns compared with other countries. America has a massively disproportionate death rate from guns than even probably a lot of war torn countries.
Yet there is still a large movement of the population in America that will only relinquish their guns when said gun is pried from their cold dead hands. They would rather buy a bullet proof jacket for their child than see gun control tightened. They would rather a teacher carry a gun, metal detectors in schools, security guards, GPS chips in the ID tags of their children and so on than have legislation that makes it harder to own a gun. Or safer, what ever way you want to look at it.
Where does it end? What does this teach children? To be afraid of everyone? To fear that your life will be ended when ever someone feels like it? Kind of feels like going to church every Sunday and, in the words of Homer Simpson, listen to how your going to hell for 45 mins. This mentality can only breed fear and guilt.
I have lived in two countries with strict gun control laws. The chances of dying in these countries from an accident with a gun is very low. In fact in Australia, where I currently call home, when a violent mass shooting occurred, which I would liken to the horrible tragedy that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the response of government and the populace was very different. The government brought in much tougher legislation regarding access to guns and the populace breathed a sigh of relief when such measures were brought in. In fact the populace of Australia all but demanded it. Because the lives of the populace were more important than the right to own a gun.
The right to defend one's self is not being argued here. I know many ways to defend myself without the need for a gun. In fact I know a number of very lethal ways to defend myself with my hands alone, ways that don't actually require a lot of force if you hit the right spot on an attacker's body. What I am attempting to discuss is the mentality of a section of American society that would so rabidly oppose the control of guns, at the detriment of its society, they might actually get their way.
I have respect for President Obama. He has attempted to give the Americans what they have needed. Health care for instance. Instead of putting it in the hands of people who merely want to make money from suffering (if you charge a profit for health care then yes you are making a profit from some of the weakest and vulnerable members of society) he has attempted to wrestle it back into government control so everyone can have access to medical treatment. (Next time you watch an American talk show and see some kid getting some new radical treatment for cancer I would ask you to consider the financial situation of that family. I don't think I have seen one "poor" family on those shows and usually they are shown in rather well off housing. I think if it was someone below the poverty line then in all likelihood that child would be dead.)
Obama has given America what it needed and of course like a spoilt brat it threw a hissy fit and threw it back in his face because it wasn't shiny. Now poor Obama has to be like a parent weaning their child off their dummy (or binky or what ever you want to call it). He has to wean an nation obsessed with instruments of death off of them. Its like making a crack addict give up crack. Its going to be a long and difficult process. But in doing so he might actually earn his Nobel prize for peace, by actually bringing a measure of peace to his own country.
But I don't blame Americans for their love of guns. If you watch Discovery Channel there is a large number of shows dedicated to making guns look awesome. One show is about a family who makes custom weapons for a living. It makes me sad to think that this show exists. Guns only do one thing. They kill people or animals. They kill. They take life. And yet there is a show that glorifies making them and firing them. National Geographic isn't so bad but they aren't far behind Discovery Channel. And at least the History Channel attempts to put some of the horror of war into its long list of war documentaries. World War II should not be forgotten for its horrible atrocities but should not be used to encourage gun violence.
I think it is sad that the most powerful nation on Earth is a nation that would rather defend its weapons than its children. To argue that children should be wearing bullet proof vests instead of making gun access more controlled seems like an illogical argument Almost like a child molester saying that a five year old girl asked to be raped. Its like arguing with a mad man. In my home town there is a gun club and many people attend and use the weapons very responsibly.
So by the argument above, those who argue against gun legislation are saying that they would rather have a gun in the hands of a mad man than have to go through a few checks to make the world a bit safer for their children. In the two countries I have lived in, you have to go through a number of steps to own a gun, steps that are repeated when your licence expires, and both countries have few murders, and even fewer with guns. There is almost no gun violence and guns are seldom if ever see or needed.
So ultimately what is it that America is really afraid of? Clearly other countries with tight gun control show that there is no bogey man under the bed. They show that society won't crumble into a festering wound of humanity. Is having your toys really worth the lives of innocent children? Does America really rank a gun worth more than a child? It would seem if the gun lobbies win then that is how America truly thinks.
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