It has happened again, and still shocks me on different levels. A young man in Denver, goes on a shooting rampage with a high powered gun in a cinema and sprays bullets into the crowd killing and injuring many innocents. At the risk of upsetting my many US family and friends, can I ask some searching and obvious questions? I am open to your thoughts, and want to understand. My questions all start with the word ‘Why’?...
Why is there such an acceptable culture of gun ownership in the US? It seems to me at least, that just about every adult owns at least one gun. That’s a lot of killing hardware.
Why do both Republicans and Democrats listen so ‘religiously’ to the gun lobby, but do not hear the cries of those ordinary citizens affected by gunmen?
Why do we hear the same reasons given, like “It’s not the gun that kills, it’s the mad or unbalanced person who pulls the trigger?” That same reasoning means that the US has many more unbalanced people than any other country in the world (30x more than the UK, and 280x more than Japan). Not much of a boast, but I have made many friends in the US, and I don’t really think there are more unbalanced folks there than here in the UK. I happen to think it is more than just the ‘unbalanced gunman’ theory. Could it have something to do with easy availability of guns in too many hands? Is it that simple?
Why is there still the same need for the “right to bear arms” since that was introduced to protect a very young America from British tyranny over 200 years ago? Brits are now one of the biggest tourist groups to the USA. (I think my attitude to US gun laws changed when Charlton Heston arrogantly brandished and raised a rifle like a toy, within striking distance of the US Capitol. He was not arrested, and the politicians did nothing. Did he think he was in a movie?)
Why do I hear and see an educated US columnist and writer say on TV in defence of the US gun policy: “A solution would have been if someone in that same cinema had a handgun, he could have returned fire”? Yes, I am sure I saw and heard it, but cannot believe the rationale of returning violence with violence. Is this the acceptable action of a Christian country? Which politician has the nerve to take on the gun lobby, and change the gun control laws? That will take a strong and true leader! Until then, the cries will be heard, “Someone stop this madness” and then, “Let us keep our guns”. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand these statements are incompatible. Sorry, but you can’t have both. Until the laws are changed, there is no reason to think it will not happen again! Or maybe, just maybe, most US Politicians and Citizens think the price in lives is worth paying to keep the loose gun control! Surely not!!
Perhaps the following independent statistics will help you to understand my concerns. Courtesy of MedicineNet.com, the gun-related deaths per 100,000 people in 1994 by country were as follows:
- U.S.A. 14.24 (Highest in the world)
- Scotland 0.54
- England and Wales 0.41
- Japan 0.05 (Lowest in the world)
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