Guns of America
I am writing with reference to "Guns in America again (and again)," by Prof. Charles R. Larson (Dec, 24).
Prof. Larson is absolutely right when he says: "It's open hunting season in the United States again. This week's carnage: Eight people slain by a gunman at a shopping mall in Omaha, several others at two churches in Colorado. What will be the country's reaction? Business as usual. Collective amnesia.
“Nothing has changed. It's always shoot-to-kill time in America, the rite of manhood in a country led by neo-cons, right-wingers, and lying conservatives. And once again, to the amazement of people in the rest of the world, America attacked itself, elevated home-grown terrorism into a five-minute talk-show debate about what's wrong with the country."
The US Constitution says: "Citizens right to bear arms must not be infringed." This leads us to the question: Does this right to bear arms extends to the right to kill? Guns have no other purpose but to kill. If it is for defending the country from foreign aggression, then one should join the armed forces or become a part of a militia. This is exactly what the U.S. Constitution says as it refers to a "well-armed militia." If the right to bear arms is to defend from a tyrannical government, in a democracy, you use ballot, not bullet, to change the government. If it is to defend from criminals, then you should join the law-enforcement officers. In a civilized society, you don't carry guns to protect yourself.
The gun lobby and their supporters have extended the Constitution to justify the anarchic proliferation of guns in America. They tend to downplay the havoc caused by widespread use of firearms in domestic and workplace violence. A look at Texas will make the point clear.
When 14-year-old Juan Ramon, of Haltom City, near Fort Worth, got angry after a family row, he didn't kick the family dog or sulk. He did what many Texans traditionally do when they get very angry: with a family gun ready at hand, he started shooting. He shot a dog and injured three neighbours, before killing a cop who had answered an emergency call. Later that afternoon, Juan was killed in a hail of police bullets.
Nobody really knows why Juan did it -- everyone knows if there were no guns in the house, this would have taken place. Juan Ramon's weekend shooting spree was quickly followed by several other shooting deaths -- and all within weeks of the Feb. 28, 1993, shootout at the Branch Davidian cult's compound near Waco. In the Lone Star state, the national capital of gun culture, such stark tragedies are nothing unusual.
Texas has a population of about 17 million. Between them, they own 68 million guns -- or four guns for every man, woman and child. Not surprisingly, every year thousands are being cut down by gunfire in Texas.
The indifference over what to do about the anarchic proliferation of guns is not confined to Texas. In Washington, the Brady Bill (a modest gun control legislation named after Ronald Reagan's press secretary who was maimed in the 1981 assassination attempt) was allowed to expire by the earlier Republican-dominated House and the new Democratic majority have shown little interest to revive it. The nation has been shocked by school shootouts by children with apparent access to family guns. But most Americans are unwilling to recognize that the nation's lack of adequate gun control is allowing so many irresponsible people to acquire gun with devastating consequences. Incredibly, the earlier Republican-dominated Senate led by Senator Bill Frist passed a bill making gun manufacturers immune to lawsuits by those who are injured by their products.
In Canada, where laws exist to control gun ownership, the growing trend of gun smuggling from the United States is posing a serious problem. The lax-legislation of many American states, where a driver's licence is the simple requirement to buy a handgun, makes it easy and profitable to purchase firearms and bring them to Canada. This calls for tighter border control for people entering Canada from the United States.
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