Gun Control & RKBA
Related: About this forumWhy Gun ‘Control’ Is Not Enough (NYT)
A very thoughtful article in the NYT arguing that the only real solution that would get our rates of homicide and gun violence down dramatically is a ban or near-ban on guns. I'm not sure I agree with this, and it's definitely not politically feasible in the foreseeable future, but it is thought-provoking nonetheless.
When most citizens are armed, as they were in the Wild West, crime doesnt cease. The criminals get better.
Theres some sense to this argument, for even criminals dont like being shot. But the logic is faulty, and a close look at it leads to the conclusion that the United States should ban private gun ownership entirely, or almost entirely.
One would think that if widespread gun ownership had the robust deterrent effects that gun advocates claim it has, our country would be freer of crime than other developed societies. But its not. When most citizens are armed, as they were in the Wild West, crime doesnt cease. Instead, criminals work to be better armed, more efficient in their use of guns (quicker on the draw), and readier to use them. When this happens, those who get guns may be safer than they would be without them, but those without them become progressively more vulnerable.
Gun advocates have a solution to this: the unarmed must arm themselves. But when more citizens get guns, further problems arise: people who would once have got in a fistfight instead shoot the person who provoked them; people are shot by mistake or by accident.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/why-gun-control-is-not-enough/?hp
LAGC
(5,330 posts)The only way to stop gun violence is to ban all guns. Half-assed gun control measures won't work.
Problem is, Pandora's Box is already opened. No putting the genie back in the bottle at this point.
DanTex
(20,709 posts)I tend to believe that the public health approach can cut down gun violence without an outright ban.
In any case, the fact that there are currently a lot of guns out there is not an excuse for inaction. We were able to reduce machine gun violence to almost zero. Sure, it would take some time, but if we regulated handguns and semi-autos in the same way as machine guns, we would eventually see dramatic results.
The problems are political, not practical.
hack89
(39,171 posts)DanTex
(20,709 posts)But I agree that this is not politically feasible anytime soon. Neither is, say, single-payer healthcare. That shouldn't stop us from discussing it.
Thanks. Perhaps one should start with gun control first, and then move from there.