All along we have been stating that gun violence in the USA is the result of a lethal combination: the gun culture and the culture of violence. Easy access to guns and the gun culture feed each other. The culture of violence leads to the use of guns all too often. Marginal elements within society as well as mentally disturbed persons collect and use guns as they please. Consequently, to tackle the issue of gun access is considered paramount to reducing gun violence. The question is how?
The first basic premise to reduce the easy access to guns is a radical change in the current legal-constitutional framework. The Federal Government needs to be empowered to regulate gun commerce, to confiscate guns, to control imports-exports, to issue permits to existing and prospective gun owners, and to impose and collect fees that would finance the oversight of gun regulations.
“The right to bear arms”, established to protect the institution of slavery and kill native-Americans has to be abrogated. Such a measure would allow the government to implement gun controls not only in relation to future transactions, but also in relation to the existing guns in civilian hands which is reported to exceed 300 millioni. It would also allow, among other things, the following:
- the banning and confiscation of automatic, semi-automatic and assault weapons
- the registration and thorough background check of all gun owners
- the prohibition of private or online gun transactions
- the tracing of registered guns in the context of any armed crime
- strict laws to deter the possession of illegal weapons
- the banning of gun shows
- the sole existence of exclusively sport-oriented gun shops subject to government supervision
- the banning of commercials that promote guns in all shape and forms
- individuals targeted by criminals may be able to obtain special permits to possess/carry non-sport guns if they have the basic training
I strongly believe that these types of measures would lead to a sharp reduction in gun violenceii. A decrease in gun-related homicides of just ten percent would amount to 3,000 less homicides per year in the USA (roughly the number of people killed in 9/11). A lowering of current gun-related homicide levels to half would still leave the USA with more than double the prevailing homicide rates in other advanced countries (i.e. Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia). These countries have adopted regulatory frameworks like the one outlined aboveiii.
The existing gun culture is based on the sacrosanct “Right to bear arms”, which is continuously cited as a cornerstone element in the prevailing political discourse. This would have to change if a sustained effort to reduced gun violence is adopted. Such an effort would demand that policy makers and progressive civic organizations be two steps ahead of society. For example, the public discourse should emphasize that guns in civil hands are exclusively for sports, not instruments to defend the individual from the State or the Government; that the only way to protect the individual from the Government in a democratic society is through political process, which encompasses legal protests and civic actions. The State has the monopoly of public force, nobody else. With this understanding, the legality of proto-military training by private groups would be unthinkable. In fact, if a US-resident Islamic group were to adopt such a regimented and armed profile it would most likely be infiltrated and disbanded. The same policy should be applied to other groups.
I acknowledge that these suggestions are not implementable within the existing political climate. They may sound too radical and utopic. Other proposed minor adjustments in gun regulations may be possible, but would not improve the situation as the current system has too many “holes”. A case in point, background checks would leave out current owners and a great deal of gun transactions and family transfers. Minor adjustments in gun regulations are unlikely to produce any visible reduction in gun homicides and would therefore undermine the urgent need for introducing fundamental changes.
Therefore, these reflections may sound discouraging. Unfortunately, there is no way around it!
i The United States has the highest gun ownership rate unambiguously: 112.6 per 100 residents. Ingraham, Christopher (2015-10-05). “There are now more guns than people in the United States”.
ii The Harvard Injury Control Research Center, part of the Harvard School of Public Health, found that “The rate of gun homicide, and the total homicide rate was significantly correlated with levels of gun ownership”, and that this also held across high-income nations and across states. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_control#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEHemenwayMiller2000_35-0
iii Overview of gun laws by nation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overview_of_gun_laws_by_nation