Can America Ever be Weaned off its Love Affair with Guns?

Can America Ever be Weaned off its Love Affair with Guns?
by Andrew Gumbel
The Independent

WASHINGTON -

Why is US gun culture in the news?

This week's school shootings in Amish country, in which five children died, are just the latest in a seemingly never-ending string of spectacular mass murders to hit the headlines in the United States. Last week, a gunman in the Colorado Rockies burst into a schoolroom and killed a student before turning his weapon on himself. Seven years ago, we had the bloodbath at Columbine High School. We've had disgruntled ex-employees shooting up their former workplaces, shootings in fast-food restaurants, and a parishioner in Fort Worth, Texas, shooting up his local church.

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In the US, there are roughly 17,000 murders a year, of which about 15,000 are committed with firearms. By contrast, Britain, Australia and Canada combined see fewer than 350 gun-related murders each year. And it's not just about murder. The non-gun-related suicide rate in the US is consistent with the rest of the developed world. Factor in firearms, and the rate is suddenly twice as high as the rest of the developed world.

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Is there hope for an end to America's gun violence?

Yes...

* With every high-profile mass murder, victims' advocates and gun-control lobbyists gain more visibility, and more influence

* Someone, eventually, will make the link to homeland security: why make it so easy for al-Qa'ida to acquire assault weapons?

* The numbers of American children who die in gun violence means sooner or later, the madness will stop

No...

* Congress is in thrall to the NRA, and is too scared to act

* The burst of reformist energy that followed Columbine has subsided, and the most recent mass murders have been greeted with resigned indifference

* The US media is too addicted to its regular, real-life horror show to want it to stop

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1004-10.htm

This is bear, cougar and rattlesnake country. Most times, a warning shot will scare the first two off. There is one time in a thousand the critter will charge, and the human had better be carrying a gun and not more firecrackers. Handguns are the weapon of choice for dispatching rattlesnakes on the patio because even whacking with a hoe may bring you too close.

It would be nice if we could keep guns out of cities while keeping them available in the country, but we already know that's not going to happen.

I'd prefer gun ownership be licensed the way driving is. Anyone can own a gun but would need a license to buy ammo for it, licensing being available after safety and firing range courses.

That wouldn't stop the gun violence, but it would slow it down, and that's often the best we can ever expect.

More gun laws only gives the Bush Administration more powers to decide who is and is not allowed to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

There'd be a half dozen more Amish people running around today in Pennsylvania....

the quintessential American answer. I was expecting it.

"Gun shops and dealers will conduct mandatory background checks...But dealers at gun shows...are exempt from the federal law, making it easy for criminals or children to lay their hands on whatever they want."

That's simply not true. Any dealer with an FFL has to run a background check and (in my state at least) private sales are not allowed on the grounds of a gun show.

"a nationwide ban on semi-automatic assault weapons...was allowed to expire on the eve of the 2004 presidential election - despite the abiding fear of al-Qa'ida sleeper cells possibly operating in the US and planning another attack."

OK so now these 'sleeper cells' can put bayonet lugs on their rifles, no doubt making possible a whole new level of terror. :eyes:

yeah...........that should solve all of our problems, wonder why nobody thought of that before?

in some states for private sales without a background check. I'm a gun owner and I would have no problem with a background check being done for every gun purchase trade. BTW, my state does require for private sales of handguns. But I think it should be for all guns, handguns, rifles, shotguns.

And I wouldn't have a problem with showing a license to buy ammo. Hell they put me through more trouble to buy cold medicine than they do for ammo.

BTW, restricting ammo is not a cure-all. A lot of shooters reload their own at home. So you'd have to put the license requirement on the purchase of powder, primers, bullets, shell casings, etc.

I'd also put anyone who made a straw purchase for someone not legally allowed to own a firearm in jail for a very long time.

My beef with the "gun show loophole" is that there is no loophole. Licensed dealers have to run background checks. Period. If people want to argue against private sales, fine let them do so, but when gun control measures are dressed up with deliberately misleading language like 'gun show loophole' and 'assault weapons ban' it only serves to confuse those that don't know much about guns (which is the purpose) and alienate gun owners, thus pushing them into the waiting willing arms of the NRA.

Now move on to a more productive issue.

I have several rifles and shotguns that my father handed down to me. Nope, I'm not giving them up but I'm one Pinko Liberal - who luvs her firearms. :P

In spite of a pacifist bent, and a personal lack in gun ownership and experience, I would not support gun control on the old basis of "armed government-unarmed citizenry=easy tyranny". At the moment I think a bit of fear-of-the-people among those in power would be a healthy addition to the political mix.

Translation--"Can we ever hope to force people who don't think like me, to live by MY views, or else?"

I certainly hope not.

My wife and I own guns, lawfully and responsibly. So do most of the people we know. Our children will, when they are of age, if they so choose. And we will keep them.

Guns and murder would fall off of the radar screen, they are over-emphasized by the media anyway. Of course it is always about money and control.

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Period.

The love affair Americans have with guns can be ended slowly.
It will take a long term plan to be successful. One plan is to
make today's guns obsolete. Newer, better guns will be sold
and old calibers of ammunition will become unavailable. The new
guns have high-tech protections designed into them so fewer
murders and suicides will be so easy. The new guns have new
calibers and new ammunition safeguards embedded within the
mass produced ammunition.

Old guns will rust. Some will be lost in storage. Reloading
ammunition by hand will still be legal. Attrition of
the surviving old guns will gradually leave fewer guns in
America than there are mail boxes. It will take 200 years.