BANG BANG, THAT AWFUL SOUND
America has more guns – both in absolute numbers and per capita – than any other country in the world. The United States now has more firearms than people – over 350 million guns. Oddly enough, though, the number of gun owning households peaked in the late 70s at just over 50%. By 2014, the most recent data available, that number had dropped to 31%. In other words, there are now a lot more guns in the hands of a lot fewer people.
It’s not hard to think of options for reducing gun violence in America. We could, for instance, take the Second Amendment to the Constitution literally and make it illegal for anyone to own firearms unless they are members of a “well regulated militia,” defined as any branch of the armed forces (active duty or reserves) or law enforcement.
Or we could do what Australia did in 1996, after a man in Tasmania killed 35 people and injured 18 more. The Australian national government made it illegal for civilians to own semi-automatic and self-loading rifles and shotguns, and instituted a mandatory buyback of weapons banned by the new law. Of course, some gun owners, maybe most of them, kept their weapons. But there hasn’t been a mass shooting in Australia since the law was passed, and the rate of deaths by firearm (both murder and suicide) have declined significantly since the ban and buyback were implemented.
Personally, I’d settle for a return to the status quo ante. “Ante,” as in the way the Second Amendment was understood until a couple of decades ago, when no sane person expected private citizens to be able to buy a basement full of assault rifles and other military grade weaponry, the sole purpose of which is to kill large numbers of human beings. People were allowed to own firearms for hunting and target shooting (and which could also be used for self-defense).
Hunters and self-defenders don’t need rapid firing military weapons. If you’re a civilian and you need more firepower than rifles, shotguns, and pistols can provide, you need to rethink your lifestyle choices.
Banning the sale of assault weapons wouldn’t eliminate gun violence, but it would likely reduce the incidence and lethality of Las Vegas style massacres. It would be a step in the right direction. But hold your applause.
Sadly, the heart of the problem is isn’t even guns, which after all are only tools. We are in the throes of a decades-long crisis in mental health treatment. Most of the sufferers are harmless, except to themselves, but the occasional exceptions are deadly. We also have a massive anger problem in this country, which is being deliberately stoked by supporters of the Republican Party.
I’d love to be wrong, but I doubt that the Las Vegas massacre will change anything. I think we crossed a line with the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012. Right before Christmas, a guy killed 26 people, including 20 kids under the age of ten.
America thought it over and shrugged. Oh sure, there were the usual thoughts and prayers. But not for long. No one said it out loud, but when the Sandy Hook massacre didn’t lead to some kind of reform, it was clear that Americans had decided they could live with an occasional mass murder. Five years later, the only people who think much about Sandy Hook are the families of the victims and sickos like Donald Trump’s pal, Alex Jones, who claims the whole thing was faked.
The Axis of Media Evil – talk radio, Fox News, and the Breitbart/Infowars websites – are all dedicated to keeping America ignorant, frightened, and Republican. As long as Republicans control the White House and both branches of Congress, nothing will change.
Remember all of the gun massacres we’ve endured over the years. Every new atrocity adds a layer of moral scar tissue that makes each new incident a little less shocking. Every new atrocity also plants a seed in the minds of angry, unbalanced people: Maybe I could do that too.
Remember the 350 million guns that are already out there. Some of them are in the hands of decent people. Some of them are in the hands of criminals. And some of them are in the hands of people who are essentially walking time bombs. The lethal genie is out of the bottle.
The elections in 2018 and 2020 are the key to any sort of progress. Unless and until Democrats take back the government, we’d better keep our thoughts and prayers handy. We’re likely to need them again soon.