Pro Guns or No Guns?

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 2^nd 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.

Gun crime in the US, 2010

Click heading to sort table. Download this data

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
• Florida figures not provided • Total number of murders for which supplemental homicide data were received. • Limited supplemental homicide data were received from Illinois • Rates for robbery and assault are FBI official rates, others are calculated by the Datablog SOURCE: FBI
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

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/0723/Colorado-shooting-Why-calling-Obama-anti-gun-is-smart-politics

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.