US gun debate is loaded with belligerence

America's streets and schools are looking less like part of a civilized society and more like the Wild West. As of July 2022, there have been over 300 mass shootings in the United States, leaving over 300 people dead, over 1,000 injured, and many more wondering why there is such staunch resistance from politicians and pro-gun advocates to even reasonable gun regulations.

In part, it's because gun culture is almost synonymous with American culture. Many people have positive gun associations, spending time hunting or shooting with their family. There's also a pervasive film trope of the all-American hero rushing in, guns blazing, to save the day! Many people come from military families and they're proud to carry forward the tradition of the "well-regulated militia" as mentioned in the Second Amendment of the US Bill of Rights, which also states that a person's right "to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed".

So, this is a very complicated topic, and in my research I found that all of my questions could, really, be distilled into one, which is: do guns keep us safe? Or, do more guns keep us safer?

Nope.

Some cling to the myth that, "the only thing that will stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun". This happens far less than the oft-cited, and flawed study from over 20 years ago suggests. And, while data on defensive gun use is limited, what we do know for sure is that there are higher rates of suicide, homicide, and accidents in households with guns and states with lax gun control laws.

But, the counterargument goes, if we take guns away from good people, only the bad guys will have guns. This is a misrepresentation of the issue. Nobody said they wanted to take guns out of the hands of law-abiding citizens. That said, about 70 percent of guns used in crimes are either stolen from the aforementioned good citizens, or bought from states with lax gun control laws. So really, implementing some reasonable regulations nationwide, and making sure people report gun theft could really go a long way in helping ensure that guns stay out of the hands of criminals.

But isn't gun regulation a slippery slope to regulating our other freedoms? Again, no. We're talking about reasonable regulations. Nowhere else do people argue for unfettered rights without responsibility. Why should guns, which kill more children every year than the highly regulated automotive industry, be any different?

The frustrating thing is that there is this radicalized minority led by people with money and influence. So, theirs is the voice that is heard in the media and in the government.

But how has this minority garnered such radicalized support? How are they able to drown out the voices of reasonable gun owners? Fear. It's fear. When you can convince people that their fundamental way of life, that the very fabric of the country they live in and love is under imminent threat, people will overlook a lot, they will do a lot that they wouldn't otherwise do, as evidenced by the insurrection on the US Capitol on Jan 6, 2021.

The misinformation these conspiracy theories propagate feels so real and true, that people will tell you, "I'm not afraid! I'm prepared. I'm prepared to fight." At that point, you know that they're so entangled in this web of misinformation that to help them untangle is so very difficult, even when you present overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and point out that fewer regulations don't keep you free, they kill.

Now, the hope I have in all of this is knowing that there are a lot of responsible gun owners out there. Please do your research. Look at studies from a variety of different sources and speak up. Speak up for common sense. Speak up and save lives.