I don't own a gun. I've never really had the desire to throughout my entire life outside of a small window where someone tried breaking into my home several years ago. It was really unsettling to feel unsafe in my own home, so I considered the possibility for a couple of weeks. The last thing I wanted to do was be awakened in the middle of the night with a stranger in my bedroom and having no means to protect myself. But over time that fear subsided, and I still have no strong desire to own a firearm at this current point in time in my life.
I've never really had an overly passionate stance on the gun debate. I've always believed that if every gun in America, both legal and illegal, up and vanished off the face of the earth, the US would have significantly fewer deaths and homicides every year. It would be exponentially safer. I don't think any sane person could even argue otherwise, guns account for the majority of homicides in the US, and half of suicides. Not to mention accidentally deaths factor in as well. And if tomorrow guns were hypothetically banned nationwide, I really wouldn't care much, because as someone who doesn't own a gun, it really wouldn't affect me. But at the same time, I've always tried to see the other side of people who advocate for guns. The woman who has the crazy ex-boyfriend stalking her, and is tired of looking over her shoulder all the time and wants a means of protection. The family that lives in an impoverished, drug and gang-ridden neighborhood ravaged by crime, and don't feel safe in their own homes with simple locks, security systems, and baseball bats. I could name a variety of examples of people and situations those who aren't gun nuts might feel the need to own a firearm just to feel safe in their daily lives.
There's no denying though, in my opinion, America does indeed have a gun problem. And a violence problem(I'll get to that later). Part of the reason the aforementioned bad neighborhood is unsafe, to the point where a family feels they need a gun for protection, is most likely because criminals who operate in these neighborhoods also have guns. Rise in crime, as we've seen over the last couple years with gun ownership increasing directly coincides with a rise in crime. Those people may not necessarily even be pro gun. They may just be thinking "As long as this country is going to have a gun problem, I may as well protect myself with the most effective weapon possible, because bad people certainly aren't going to stop getting their hands on them any time soon." And for that logic specifically, I can't knock anyone. After all, even someone like me who never had a desire to own a gun, felt that way for a brief moment of my life.
So one of the questions then becomes: if America has a gun problem, is it beyond the state of repair? Is this country too far gone? America has more guns than people. There are over 350 million guns in this country. And an incredibly deep historical culture and an affinity for guns. The gun culture in America is an entity unto its own. Unique in the western world. How do we get to a point where mass shootings become a rarity and homicides and/or gun deaths are significantly less frequent? Is it even possible? I'll explore each idea one by one. By the way, when I explore each one, I'm talking about how each idea would or could be implemented, not the likelihood it would make it through Congress and eventually become law. I think we all know the likelihoods on that(not very).
Universal gun ban:
While if guns were universally banned tomorrow, I wouldn't bat an eye, I don't consider this remotely feasible. Banning guns and offering some type of buy back program for 350 million firearms would be an undertaking unlike anything this country has ever seen. I don't see any conceivable way it could be effectively implemented, let alone enforced. And that's assuming people even complied, which I think a large portion of the gun-owning population would not. Policies only work if you get compliance. This is not Australia 1996. Australia didn't have the hardcore gun culture America has now, nor the excessive amounts of guns. The US has one major storm and trash collection gets backed up for a week, how the hell are they going to manage confiscating hundreds of millions of guns? And the tens of millions of gun owners who refuse to comply? What do we do with them? Throw them in jail? We don't have the prison space or the resources. Fine them? And if they refuse to pay those fines? Again, we don't have the prison space. Seize their assets? The last thing we need are millions more homeless people in this country. And what of those who claim their guns were stolen and hide them off their property? Hell, they could hide them on their property. We don't have the law enforcement prowess to go door to door through an entire nation looking for peoples' guns.
And then there's that other issue: bloodshed. People are die-hard about their guns, and I mean that in the most literal sense. "Pry it from my cold dead hands" is a slogan for a reason. People believe it. Those guns mean that much to them. If you've ever spoken to a hardcore gun advocate, you would know this. If there were a universal gun ban, maybe saying a civil war would break out is a little extreme, but there certainly are millions of people out there who will fight to the death to defend their right to retain those guns. And would take the use of force to remove them through government authority as the exact reason they need them in the first place, further strengthening their desire to keep them and fight for them. This would not go down without bloodshed, by any stretch. The question is how many people would die.
I consider this possibility extremely unlikely and unrealistic.
Further gun regulations?
Another one I'd be perfectly fine with. I think many more people would be in favor of this than an outright ban. Perhaps even many gun owners. Things likes separate licenses for every firearm, more thorough background checks, mandatory training to show you're competent to own one, giving a credible reason to want to own a firearm to authorities, raising the age limit, banning AR-15s, etc.
The AR-15 ban might face stiff opposition given that, like the outright ban, people who already own AR-15s may be forced to give them up, which would likely face strong push back. But most of those, I think many Americans could agree on. The question is: would they make a difference? If you have 350 million guns already in circulation, and any gun legislation is not retroactive, that would only impact the gun sales made henceforth. If that were the case, and guns became harder to acquire, illegal gun sales would likely dramatically increase, which means harsher penalties for illegal gun sales would have to face severe punishment and lengthy prison sentences. Would this make a difference with hundreds of millions of guns in circulation? I don't know. But I'd be willing to try. I think out of all the ideas, this one has the strongest likelihood of acceptance considering it's a decent compromise in between outright bans and doing nothing at all.
Tighter security nationwide in schools and other institutions?
This is one a lot of people seem opposed to, though I think it's because a lot of people who offer this solution want this in spite of gun regulations, not in addition. In addition to new regulations, I don't know why anyone would be against it. Tons of businesses and institutions already have tight security. The question is: is it feasible? Probably not. Where would the money come from to pay for it? Where is the manpower going to come from? There are thousands of schools in the US. And those are just schools. We don't have the resources to protect every building in the country where large amounts of people may be gathering. However, if individual schools, businesses, etc can afford it or find a way to make it work, and at the very least it gives those who frequent them peace of mind, by all means, go for it.
Making America a less violent place?
Contrary to the belief of some, the gun problem is just one of America's problems. America doesn't just have a gun culture, but it has a culture of violence. Take away crimes committed with firearms and America still has a higher crime rate than many countries. Like rape, assaults, batteries, non gun-related homicides, etc. Why are countries like Japan and South Korea just more peaceful and friendlier than ours? Why are they less violent? Japan was once a country steeped in war for centuries. It's not like it has no violence in its history. Once upon a time, all Japan knew was bloodshed. Yet today, it's significantly more peaceful than the US, when as recently as World War II it was involved in global violent conflict. I wish I had the answer to those questions. I think it's extremely complicated.
I do think mental illness has something to do with it. And yes, every country has mental illness. But not every country has the same rate of the same mental illnesses. There are mental illnesses like depression, bipolar, Tourette's, etc. And then there's mental illness like sociopathy and psychopathy. The latter being a major precursor for someone becoming violent as opposed to the former set of mental illnesses, which usually do not. Is America breeding sociopaths and psychopaths, when combined with the tools to commit mass violence we create killing machines with the means to succeed? And if so, how are we doing so? What is it about our culture that creates people who have a thirst for killing? America's also had a serial killer problem in its history. Many serial killers don't even use guns. Yet the state of California alone has had more serial killers than several nations combined.
People steadfast in their stances refuse to acknowledge both problems exist. Gun advocates refuse to acknowledge guns are a problem, and anti-gun people refuse to acknowledge America has a violence problem. Is it fixable? Honestly, with how little we know about the human brain and psyche, I'd bet my money than the gun problem is solved before the violence problem. Only one of those requires legislation. Which, depending on how elections and voting goes, and who gets in power, there is always a chance of that. Solving the violence issue and understanding the human condition in relation to its surroundings? That requires years of research, funding, technology, and innovation, which I fear we are a long ways away from.
So, given my thoughts on a variety of angles of these issues, did I even answer my own question. Maybe... somewhat? Do I think America is beyond the state of repair regarding its gun culture? Probably not. Do I think it's in an place for optimism? Also no. Do I think everyone will ever agree on every aspect of this issue? Not in our lifetimes. But I never say never.
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