Gun control, by Danielle Curry

The topic of gun control is one of the more meaningful differences between Spain and the US. We know guns are legal, and often easily accessible, in the US while gun ownership in Spain is restrictive and not a right.[1] However, we may not know just how prevalent gun violence is in the US compared to other “rich western countries,” as visualized in the graph below.[2]

Having been asked to comment on this topic, I didn’t know where to start. Gun control can be a heated one, especially in conservative hometowns like mine, so I’ve really avoided it all together. In my research, I found visualizations like the one above, showing us just how far away the US is in gun violence from our peers. It’s seems like a joke. I then think of the mass shootings we hear about over the years, carried out even by high school students. Many factors go into these shootings, but often it seems the mere availability of guns to the shooters is what facilitates and enables their actions.

If guns are so dangerous to have around the house[3], why do so many Americans cling to them? I wanted to understand what it’s like to be a steadfast defender of the 2^nd Amendment. Looking into the average gun defender’s mind, I see that protection, recreation, and social-cultural pressures are their strongest motives, conscious of it or not.[4] For those who want easy gun access, shooting is simply fun. In addition, it allows the user to feel strong, and masculine, and integrated in their local or regional culture. I believe both of these reasons are completely unacceptable for use in the gun control debate, when we keep in mind the accidental and intentional harm currently resulting from guns. Reading about these reminds me of my own friends from home who have mentioned their gun control views, which I didn’t consider before.

Instead, I am concerned with the gun advocate’s perception of safety.  It’s ironic how here I argue that gun restriction will make us safer, and gun advocates firmly believe the exact opposite. They seem to perceive a world in which the only person who can surely protect you and your family is yourself, not any government or police.  Either way, we are not safe, but what we can do to make both sides see the same picture of a safe country, state, town?

I’ve heard dads of friends talking about their guns in the garage much like their car or boat – a shiny toy to be proud of. I’ve also watched a male family member, who was intentionally shot, in turn purchase his own gun for future protection. Maybe if the unstable person who shot him hadn’t had a gun around in the first place, it would have never happened. Maybe it wouldn’t have advanced the cycle of perceived need for gun ownership.

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[1] https://www.loc.gov/law/help/firearms-control/spain.php

[2] http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/upshot/compare-these-gun-death-rates-the-us-is-in-a-different-world.html?_r=0

[3] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psych-unseen/201510/the-psychology-guns

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/science/brain-flapping/2015/oct/07/gun-demanding-control-firearms-psychology