Pro Gun
Guns are
undoubtedly one of the most well-known representations of American culture, but
as symbolic as a gun may be – how wonderful has the 2nd amendment ‘The
right to bear arms’ really become?
It would
appear that many think the right to gun ownership in the US is truly a gift
from God. Maj. L. Caudhill wrote a letter title, ‘The Gun is Civilisation’ that
I being labelled as ‘The best pro gun argument ever’ and in all honesty, it is
a very well written statement and even had me thinking otherwise about the way
guns have become a necessity for Americans:
(Full letter
here: http://www.techimo.com/forum/debateimo-politics-religion-controversy/255686-best-worded-pro-gun-argument.html
)
“When I
carry a gun, I don’t do so because I am looking for a fight, but because I’m
looking to be left alone. The gun at my side means that I cannot be forced, only
persuaded. I don’t carry it because I’m afraid, but because it enables me to be
unafraid. It doesn’t limit the actions of those who interact with me through
reason, only the actions of those who would do so by force. It removes force
from the equation... and that’s why carrying a gun is a civilized act.” –
last paragraph, ‘The Gun is Civilisation.
Just as I
read the title: “The Gun is Civilisation’, I rolled my eyes because,
stereotypically, Americans would refer to something as dangerous and
publically unacceptable as guns as being something that should involve and
reach out to everyone.
State
|
Total murders
|
Total firearms, 2010
|
% change, 2009-10
|
Handguns murders
|
Firearms, % of all murders
|
Firearms murders per 100,000 pop
|
Firearms robberies per 100,000 pop
|
Firearms assaults per 100,000 pop
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UNITED STATES | 12,996 | 8,775 | -4 | 6,009 | 67.52 | 2.84 | 41.67 | 44.78 |
Alabama | 199 | 135 | -41 | 112 | 67.84 | 2.85 | 17.27 | 32.33 |
Alaska | 31 | 19 | 46 | 3 | 61.29 | 2.68 | 21.58 | 76.6 |
Arizona | 352 | 232 | 18 | 152 | 65.91 | 3.47 | 45.47 | 54.19 |
Arkansas | 130 | 93 | -13 | 49 | 71.54 | 3.2 | 36.66 | 87.55 |
California | 1,811 | 1,257 | -8 | 953 | 69.41 | 3.37 | 48.44 | 45.45 |
Colorado | 117 | 65 | -31 | 34 | 55.56 | 1.28 | 21.96 | 38 |
Connecticut | 131 | 97 | 39 | 72 | 74.05 | 2.75 | 33 | 22.46 |
Delaware | 48 | 38 | 23 | 25 | 79.17 | 4.26 | 94.11 | 92.43 |
District of Columbia | 131 | 99 | -12 | 32 | 75.57 | 16 | 255.98 | 99.25 |
Florida | 59.45 | 71.18 | ||||||
Georgia | 527 | 376 | -1 | 315 | 71.35 | 3.79 | 62.49 | 52.08 |
Hawaii | 24 | 7 | -13 | 6 | 29.17 | 0.54 | 7.46 | 13.08 |
Idaho | 21 | 12 | 140 | 12 | 57.14 | 0.77 | 3.91 | 23.14 |
Illinois | 453 | 364 | -6 | 355 | 80.35 | 2.81 | 1.85 | 6.22 |
Indiana | 198 | 142 | -32 | 83 | 71.72 | 2.2 | 17.41 | 7.97 |
Iowa | 38 | 21 | 91 | 9 | 55.26 | 0.69 | 9.06 | 18.72 |
Kansas | 100 | 63 | -26 | 30 | 63 | 2.22 | 24.46 | 70.96 |
Kentucky | 180 | 116 | 4 | 76 | 64.44 | 2.67 | 39.54 | 24.43 |
Louisiana | 437 | 351 | -13 | 263 | 80.32 | 7.75 | 46.83 | 77.29 |
Maine | 24 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 45.83 | 0.84 | 5.71 | 3.66 |
Maryland | 424 | 293 | -4 | 272 | 69.1 | 5.11 | 56.93 | 30.69 |
Massachusetts | 209 | 118 | 27 | 52 | 56.46 | 1.78 | 24.52 | 30.81 |
Michigan | 558 | 413 | -5 | 239 | 74.01 | 4.16 | 55.61 | 82.88 |
Minnesota | 91 | 53 | 39 | 43 | 58.24 | 1 | 19.11 | 20 |
Mississippi | 165 | 120 | 14 | 98 | 72.73 | 4.05 | 48.03 | 30 |
Missouri | 419 | 321 | 16 | 189 | 76.61 | 5.34 | 52.9 | 89.29 |
Montana | 21 | 12 | -37 | 6 | 57.14 | 1.22 | 2.04 | 28.36 |
Nebraska | 51 | 32 | 39 | 29 | 62.75 | 1.77 | 24.24 | 29.32 |
Nevada | 158 | 84 | -8 | 57 | 53.16 | 3.16 | 64.86 | 58.54 |
New Hampshire | 13 | 5 | 25 | 2 | 38.46 | 0.38 | 7.1 | 15.26 |
New Jersey | 363 | 246 | 12 | 216 | 67.77 | 2.82 | 45.16 | 24.06 |
New Mexico | 118 | 67 | -14 | 36 | 56.78 | 3.29 | 30.78 | 82.06 |
New York | 860 | 517 | 7 | 135 | 60.12 | 2.64 | 12.97 | 11.8 |
North Carolina | 445 | 286 | -15 | 188 | 64.27 | 3.02 | 46.72 | 60.02 |
North Dakota | 9 | 4 | 33 | 3 | 44.44 | 0.61 | 1.84 | 3.21 |
Ohio | 460 | 310 | 0 | 176 | 67.39 | 2.69 | 56.18 | 30.45 |
Oklahoma | 188 | 111 | -11 | 86 | 59.04 | 2.98 | 40.35 | 63.02 |
Oregon | 78 | 36 | -12 | 20 | 46.15 | 0.93 | 15.04 | 15.93 |
Pennsylvania | 646 | 457 | -2 | 367 | 70.74 | 3.62 | 52.04 | 39.45 |
Rhode Island | 29 | 16 | -11 | 2 | 55.17 | 1.51 | 18.73 | 28.57 |
South Carolina | 280 | 207 | 5 | 136 | 73.93 | 4.5 | 57.78 | 114.73 |
South Dakota | 14 | 8 | 100 | 3 | 57.14 | 0.98 | 2.19 | 17.56 |
Tennessee | 356 | 219 | -26 | 146 | 61.52 | 3.46 | 73.87 | 129.87 |
Texas | 1,246 | 805 | -7 | 581 | 64.61 | 3.19 | 64.57 | 61.65 |
Utah | 52 | 22 | -12 | 16 | 42.31 | 0.78 | 12.33 | 21.3 |
Vermont | 7 | 2 | 1 | 28.57 | 0.32 | 2.09 | 7.87 | |
Virginia | 369 | 250 | 9 | 137 | 67.75 | 3.14 | 37.16 | 23.54 |
Washington | 151 | 93 | -8 | 73 | 61.59 | 1.38 | 21.43 | 24.87 |
West Virginia | 55 | 27 | -29 | 16 | 49.09 | 1.48 | 3.62 | 18.57 |
Wisconsin | 151 | 97 | 2 | 63 | 64.24 | 1.71 | 41.35 | 31.12 |
Wyoming | 8 | 5 | -38 | 0 | 62.5 | 0.91 | 4.57 | 14.43 |
Texas is
second in the Guardian’s table for the highest number of gun related murders in
the US during 2010, California was first. Having a friend from Texas who first
lived in California gave me the opportunity to ask her what her opinion was on
the current gun situation in Texas.
“I know that in the state of
Texas guns are legal and I'm glad, because where I live we have a lot of
break-ins and its great to have something as self-defence, but at the same time
most of the deaths we have here are caused by guns. I don't have a problem with
people buying guns here... Most of the time if someone shoots someone with a
gun they most likely didn't buy that gun, they stole it.... And also here in
Texas, hunting is a BIG tradition... I doubt you will find a Texan who doesn't
go hunting or who doesn't go to a shooting range..... We're psycho. I will say
this. If someone owns more than three guns and they're American, they most
likely go hunting or they just like to collect guns. My brother (16 yrs old) owns 6
guns, 60 pocketknives, 3 cross bows, and 2 tomahawks and it’s not like he likes
to hurt people. He just like collecting weapons, he's fascinated by them... He
has a case for each gun/knife/crossbow/tomahawk he has... He said "I don't
know how to explain it other than it’s just a hobby - something I like to
collect" – Tracy Smith, 20, Texas.
Again, this is quite an optimistic view on the
legalising of guns, although the idea of collecting weaponry for a hobby at
such a young age I couldn’t help but find worrying. When I questioned her on
especially something like the ownership of the crossbows, she simply replied. “We’re
fans of the Hunger Games.”
Anti Guns
So some may think that guns are life savers, which may very
well be true, however, there is no questioning that no matter how good they are
made out to be, they are still lethal weapons that are dangerously easy to get.
In an article written by Linda Feldmenn for ‘The Christian Science Monitor’,
she discusses how the Colorado cinema shootings would help Obama in his run for
a second term for presidency. It was said that Obama was trying to protect the
second amendment by ensuring that those who are capable of handling a gun
responsibly may own one; however, those who can’t will not be allowed to
possess a gun. This advert below stars one of the survivors of the Batman
screening shootings from earlier this year, Stephan Barton.
'Demand a Plan'
The Brady Campaign was founded in 1974 after it's founder, Mark Broinsky was robbed and treated at gun point. The campaign is strongly fighting against gun violence and is trying to get guns banned from households and everyday uses. I found that I didn't need facts or pictures to be shocked by this. Just the banner alone was enough. At the time I print-screened this, 207 people had been killed in America today because of guns.
After all this, I can't help but see and agree for both sides. I found that Caudhill's letter was very powerful and evoking. I also found it very persuasive and it made me swing slightly in the pro gun side of the matter. However, I couldn't agree more with Obama's aim to at least make sure that those who are incapable of handling a gun responsibly are banned from owning one.
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