Do Guns Kill People?
When debating guns, it seems impossible to not hear the saying, "Guns don't kill people." If you toss out a statistic about gun deaths, you will hear this retort.
I'm a gun owner. I own them simply because I come from a law enforcement family. I don't have any interest in them at all. Grew up around them. You point, they go bang. But that's not all that guns do, now is it?
Guns give people a sense of power. A command over many. They make men make rash decisions. They embolden people to do things out of arrogance and self-righteousness. If you were walking by a group of three young men whom were clearly out looking for a fight in a downtown area, you might decide to cross the street if you were unarmed. If you were armed, you might say,"Fuck it, I have a right to be here." and take on that path of resistance. A notable example of this being caught on video is the DC detective taking on a crowd for throwing snowballs. He drew his service weapon rather than walking or driving away. Link
There are other things that give people a sense of power and cause them to act as if human life doesn't matter. Cars. How many cases of road rage could we find? Cars are another thing that emboldens people to do stupid things. I had a guy attempt to run me down once while on a motorcycle. I waved him into a parking lot, got off the bike and he disappeared. As soon as I went to get back onto the road, he came at me. Being on a sport bike he had no chance and I was gone. But without a weapon, he wanted nothing to do with me. (Sremmed from him wanting me to pull out into the intersection that was blocked. Bad idea in the US, especially on a bike.) but you know what is rare... Murder in the first and second degree in cars. Killing someone in another car with the first car is difficult. We don't have enough interaction with pedestrians to get that provoked. Guns, however, allow that personal interaction along with the quick and easy solution that will give you that sense of power we have grown to love.
You can say that guns don't kill people because they are inanimate objects and be factually correct. What you ignore is that in a culture like ours where violence is regarded as being manly. Where winning a fight will get you patted on the back for years. Where people crave power over others from sports as a kid to watching movies and fantasizing yourself in the shoes of the successful violent character (Batman, Rambo, Kick Ass). Guns provide that sense of ability to easily win the fight and deliver justice when we feel wronged rather than letting the emotion settle. Gun ownership is the leading cause of homocide, 2 to 1. Nothing else compares.
We have a right to guns in the US. I don't deny that. But denying the reality that without guns we would not have nearly the same number of murders is denying reality. Without guns, people would take that extra second to think rather than simply react. There are anecdotal cases where the right gun owner wins and yeah, let's write that down. But don't forget that each year, there are 10,000 other cases where the outcome didn't have to be what it is. Guns cause people to act in ways that they wouldn't normally act. This is why I reject the claim that "Guns Don't Kill People".
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Gary Smith on -
i see no problem with hunting rifles. Pocket-sized pistols, I'm not so sure.
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Permalink Reply by Dale Mooney on -
Here in the UK we don't have guns. Well you don't often see gun violence (yes we do have knife crime, but not as bad as guns). Even our cops don't use guns and we seem to be fine with dealing with crime.
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Permalink Reply by Fox Anderson on
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Cop sees person running from crime scene "Stop! Or I will say stop again"
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Permalink Reply by Arcus on -
Cops in Europe are able to outrun criminals because part of their job description is to stay physically fit. It is exceedingly rare that a criminal is able to escape. In addition, peppering a running theif with bullets seem a bit excessive when compared to the crime.
(Also note that many officers do have weapons accessible in the police cruiser in case of armed confrontation, but need explicit verbal permission from the on-duty police prosecutor to unlock them.)
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Permalink Reply by Reggie on -
I'd add that almost all criminals who run in the United States are apprehended without being shot in the back.
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Permalink Reply by Arcus on
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Of course, and I apologise if my comments are taken as sweeping generalisations. Most US police officers are intelligent, well educated, highly trained and non-violent. Some Norwegian police officers are also unintelligent, lazy, and violent.
However, I've yet to see an obese norwegian police officer, or an officer carrying a gun when patrolling the streets, or while responing to a "regular" call.
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Permalink Reply by Reggie on
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My point was more in retort to Fox's comment about threatening to say stop again to bring a suspect to heel. Most seasoned criminals in the United States don't fear being shot when they run so much as they fear canine units or batons when they are caught. The most effective tools an officer has in his or her arsenal is a radio and backup.
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Permalink Reply by MikeLong on -
Cop sees kid running from crime scene. He's black, so BANG - he's dead. Turns out he's late for his curfew. Happens daily in American cities.
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Permalink Reply by Alan Goldstein on -
Arcus "Waiving a Glock at Obama will just get you killed"
But, it will secure a TeaBagger Honor Guard for your funeral, with Palin reading the eulogy, signing books, and serving “moose burgers” and “CoolAid afterwards.
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My opinion is this, if you have a gun then you can defend yourself from the other people that would use theirs against you. Gun control laws only keep guns out of the hands of people who need them and don't do a thing to keep them out of the hands of people that don't care and would kill you for the $5 in your wallet.
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