
After the recent horrifying shooting in Las Vegas, the gun
discussion has been hot, as it should be. I probably don’t need to note how
inundated the United States is with guns. Our culture is saturated in a way
that is outstanding – and I don't mean that in a good way – among other nations, particularly
nations in the West. In terms of the raw numbers, the human
toll is daunting.
A discussion of guns and violence cannot afford to minimize the personal and
emotional impact of gun violence. Can we all agree on that? It's far too easy for pro-gun advocates to raise a defense that appears to minimize the fact that real families are mourning real death because a gun killed someone they loved. An argument for gun ownership can easily seem like a cold, legal argument that ignores tragedy.
On the other hand, the ongoing discussion must also include the facts surrounding gun sales and ownership. The anti-gun crowd too quickly lumps gun owners into a melting pot full of of rabid, violence-loving fools who will only give up their guns when they are pried from cold, dead fingers. This is not fair. It's a gross misrepresentation of the vast majority of gun owners.
I would like
to offer some facts about gun violence and ownership in the United States (with plenty of links!), and then make a recommendation on what we can do as a culture that aligns with what has been observed in other Western
countries wrestling with what to do about this problem.
Two important caveats before we jump into this.
First, because I think the statistics defend lawful gun ownership more
than is often assumed, I am afraid I will be dismissed as a gun lobby homer. I’m not.
I do not own a gun and don’t have plans to own one. I am not a hunter or sport
shooter. I like going to outdoor music festivals, and movie theaters, and
restaurants, and church, and just walk walk down the street – all places where gun violence has taken a tremendous toll. I
hate the idea that violence is that close. If we could live in a world without guns, that would be fantastic.
Second, I believe there are practical things we can and
ought to do in order to address gun violence. I’m
convinced there is a two-pronged approach. First, we should enforce the laws we have and look at how to improve them. Second, we have to recognize the problem of human hearts. If all our hearts were good (and our brains free of mental illness), gun violence
would be a non-issue. For that reason, we must have a national conversation
about what is forming people who commit all kinds of violence. But we don’t
live in a world full of pure hearts, and so we must engage in behavior
modification more effectively than we are currently doing. I believe there are ways to do that, and I will address that at the end.