Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Parents Against Gun Violence, Women Against Gun Violence, The Educational Fund to End Handgun Violence… the list goes on and on.
Why is it that all these groups are focusing on gun violence and not just violence?
Guns do not cause violence. A gun is only a tool that can be used in a violent act, just as knives, clubs, cars, fists, feet or any other tool can be used. In fact, depending on the type of crime and location, weapons OTHER THAN firearms are more commonly used. Don’t believe me, go out to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports website and browse the data yourself.
If violent crime is more commonly committed with something other than firearms, why is the focus only on guns? Quite simply, it’s a political agenda. Guns are bad so we’re going to get rid of guns. More specifically, the anti-gun elite wants to get rid of everyone’s guns – except the ones protecting them, they need those. Those are apparently good and necessary guns. Nobody else needs them.
So, if you get rid of the guns, you’ve gotten rid of the violence, right? Wrong. Australia and the United Kingdom, the two most common examples cited as anti-gun utopias had violent crime increase after getting rid of civilian owned guns. And, despite having outlawed guns, both continue to have huge gun problems. Both countries collect as evidence more guns after crimes of violence than they care to admit.
How can this be? They have laws against private gun ownership so everyone should be safer without guns. The answer to that one is actually easy; criminals don’t obey the law.
Unfortunately for those who believe they can live in a gun-free utopia, the gun genie is out of the bottle. Criminals know how to get them through illegal means, or if they want, to build them themselves. And we’re not talking about high-tech 3D printers and CNC machines; we’re talking low-tech $10 trips to the hardware store. The information is out there, easy for anyone to use. Home built firearms in different parts of the world aren’t just zip guns anymore either. They are sophisticated, reliable, cheap and readily available.
If you’re thinking – okay, but what about mass shootings? If we get rid of guns, we won’t have those any more, right? Think again. In countries where guns are not as readily available there are still acts of mass violence, they just use other tools. Knives, explosives, chemicals and cars are just as deadly and just as effective.
But for argument sake, let’s say all the guns are gone. Now what? For a hint, take a look at the United Kingdom’s “Save a Life–Surrender Your Knife” program. They’ve even gone so far as to consult with 10 top chefs from around the country who have concluded that there is no need for a long, pointy knife. Does the “nobody needs a …“ logic sound familiar?
Here’s the United Kingdom’s advice for not becoming a victim of knife violence:
Don’t be a victim
If you feel you are in immediate danger from knife crime there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself:
- Move away from the situation towards a public place (shop, house, restaurant etc.) as quickly as possible.
- Make as much noise as you can.
- Instead of carrying a knife, carry a personal alarm.
- Don’t fight back.
Once all the long, pointy knives are gone, what do you outlaw next? Smaller knives? Letter openers? Baseball bats? Lengths of pipe? Pointy sticks of wood? Martial arts?
Firearms do not cause violence, just as knives, clubs, cars, fists and feet don’t cause it either. It’s the person – the individual – who chooses to commit the act of violence against another. If you want to curb violence – you will never eliminate it – you must solve the societal problems that cause it in the first place.
Keep in mind that firearms and other force multipliers are used to defend innocent lives every day in every corner of this country. Banning the right to effective self-defense only turns citizens into victims or scapegoat criminals if they do choose to protect themselves and their families from violence.
Violence is violence, the tool is irrelevant.
Bob
#oddstuffing, #violenceisviolence, #selfdefense, #2ndamendment