Gun Control

GUN CONTROL CAN SAVE LIVES

By Stephen Wilson

 

Legend claims that Sarah Winchester, the

daughter in law of the inventor of the

Winchester rifle, was endlessly tormented

by the ghosts of all the victims of his

gun. The ghosts warned her that if they did

not build houses in which to entertain them,

she would be cursed. So she endlessly

built homes for the spirits for the next 36

years. A door built in Winchester house

has the following painted words : Road

to Nowhere. It might seem that those very

words apply to the tremendous efforts of

advocates for stricter gun controls in

America. Each time they appear to be

making progress, for example in

persuading some gun manufacturers to

add tighter safety mechanisms to guns

so only the owner can use them, or

stricter controls preventing mentally ill

people acquiring guns, those reforms

are reversed or rolled back ! Even

very modest proposals to limit gun control

are greeted by a hysterical overreaction

by the lobby of the National Rifle

Association. The government and the

N.R.A. don't seem to feel tormented

or troubled by the families never mind

victims of gun homicide. Even the latest

tragedy on 14th February where 17

students and teachers were killed does

not move them.

Many cynics claim that attending a mass

protest demonstration on March 24th in

Washington in favor of stricter controls

won't make a difference. It is all in vain.

Those young school students will lose

their idealism as they succumb to the

mass pressures to be realistic. In any

case, since those mass killings are largely

caused by mental illness there is not

much you can do ! If those killers could

not get guns they would use knives !

A proposal by Trump actually advocates

arming the teachers. When my Russian

colleagues and students heard this

proposal they were shocked! An

English teacher Oksana Chebotareva

told me: "That is crazy ! It won't work.

It would not work in Russia as we have

some unbalanced teachers who might

just do something crazy ".

American teacher and journalist Jim

Vail posted on Facebook: "Would you like to be a

black teacher holding a handgun when

the cops turn up?" In the aftermath of

the latest mass shooting we have not

heard much about 'the shoot to kill policy

used by American cops against innocent

black drivers.

Some of the arguments by the pro gun

lobby are absurd . Children simply asking

for stricter control of guns are being called

dupes of socialists who want to grab

everyone's right to arms. But there are

no such concrete proposals.

Would stricter controls make any difference?

It certainly would if we put it in proper

perspective. Of the approximately 35,000

Americans that die each year from gun

homicide only a fraction are the result of

mass shootings. Careful research further

indicates that people who suffer from mental

illness are more likely to be the victims

rather than the perpetrators of violence. As

many as 2/3 of gun deaths are due to

suicide while the remaining 1/3 is due to

homicide and accidents. Contrary to the

statements by some politicians, mental

illness is not the main cause of deaths.

For instance, take the case of Chicago ,

when in 2017 a teacher at the Waldorf

school was caught in some cross fire

between gang members. She just

happened to be in the wrong place at

the wrong time when a gang member shot

her by accident. What is no accident is

the fact that a lot of this gang warfare

happens in the poorest parts of the city

where the social services have been

cut back in the name of austerity.

 

A recent research project by the Rand

corporation seems to lend support to

the view that the advocates of improved

gun controls are not naive or irrational

but have a very valid point. The research

vindicates the claim that measures to

control firearms could in deed, save lives.

The research , based on a 2 year review

of past studies and the guesses of experts,

suggested the following possible impact of

certain measures.

For instance, passing an assault weapons

ban might prevent 170 mass shooting

deaths a year.

Furthermore, experts who condone gun

control calculate that passing a universal

background check law could prevent 1,100

gun homicides each year.

Raising the age limit for purchasing firearms

could prevent 1600 homicides and suicides.

This report appears to be available on the

Internet. If I were a gun control advocate I'd

quickly download this report and bring it to

any meeting or rally.

Campaigning can make a distinct difference!

Not long ago Glasgow was the murder

capital of Europe as many people were

killed in gang disputes using knives. A lot of

people thought stricter control of knives

would not make any difference. Yet when

the police decided to adopt a more novel

approach where they tried to offer potential

gangsters a better path by addressing

wider social and economic problems the

number of deaths fell drastically. In fact,

not a single person was stabbed to death

by a knife in Glasgow last year. Yet people

previously said it was impossible. They

should now eat their hats!