The United States of America is the only country that has more guns than it has people. That statistic should make you feel one of two ways: proud or scared. To those of you who are proud of our abundance of guns, here's another statistic, out of the 196 countries on planet earth, America is number 11 in firearm related deaths.
It falls right in between Uruguay (number 10) and Montenegro (number 12.) If you don't think that's extraordinarily high, keep in mind just how much of a developed nation we are. The U.S. is a world leader in many aspects, but why do we have such higher gun death rates when compared to countries that are as modern as us?
This is because some of us have an obsession with guns that far outreaches the realms of rational.
Why more guns wouldn't solve the problem.
One of the most common arguments against gun control is that we need more guns. If everybody had a gun, we would be a lot safer. This statement is unrealistic optimism that everyone will treat their guns with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, human beings are erratic, unpredictable and impulsive.
We are creatures that heavily rely on emotion instead of logic. For most of us, our psychological composure is like a rollercoaster throughout our lives.
Have you ever hated someone? Maybe for breaking your heart or screwing you over at work. It seems almost insane to state that someone would ever take violent action for something that is momentary but just as stated before, we are animals that heavily rely on emotion. Another notable fact is that 6 in 10 of gun-related deaths over the past 10 years have been suicides. You are far more likely to kill yourself rather than someone else if you own a gun. You might think, “I love my life, I would never do that.” We as humans are unpredictable and impulsive and combine that with deep, situational depression and a firearm and you have the possibility for a fatal concoction.
Why protecting yourself from government tyranny wouldn't work.
Another one of the main arguments for the right to bear arms stems from the fear of the government. Try and think about this one realistically. You have all the weapons you could legally buy stockpiled in your house. You've been vacuum sealing ammo for the past couple of years, ready for anything that comes your way. You have every semi-automatic assault rifle, shotgun, and a handgun that money could buy.
You get news that there is government tyranny and that they are going to take your guns away, leaving you defenseless. You get ready, go out with your loaded gun when a drone swoops down and annihilates you.
Do you really think you would stand a chance against the most powerful military force in the world? The U.S. has the most advanced weaponry and resources in its arsenal followed by intensely trained manpower. There is absolutely no way you or a militia you have formed could last even a month fighting against the supreme war powers that America has.
Why It is unrealistic to have guns to protect your family.
Most people who have guns will never get the chance to use them to defend themselves in America. They just hold on to them like a child hiding under a blanket thinking that it will protect them from whatever monsters are under the bed. There are no monsters under the bed, and there sure isn't anyone coming to get your family.
What makes you think that someone would want to go out of their way to come terrorize your family.
Paranoia is somewhat understandable with all of the movies about traumatizing hypotheticals and cherry-picked statistics that come from pro-gun endorsers but living in fear is not the way to be happy, joyous and free. It is also unrealistic. Also, another interesting statistic is that gun accidents kill at least one child every other day. You might be a very responsible gun owner, but all it takes is a little curiosity and the pull of a trigger for something that is so precious to you to be lying on the floor with a hole in their chest because of your paranoia.
Why only bad people wouldn't have guns.
The NRA and its supporters argue that if you take guns away from good people, only the criminals will have guns. This would be true if the black market was similar to acquiring a gun legally, but it is not. When something is illegal, it gets harder and riskier to produce and distribute, which then makes the price go up. To put this in perspective, think about how cocaine is more expensive than gold.
Guns are a whole other playing field as they would have to come from a country outside of the U.S. which would mean they have to go through customs. This would raise the risk to an exponentially high number, greatly increasing the price. After Australia banned guns, they saw a dramatic decrease in gun violence and deaths, and the price for some guns on the black market was over $30,000. If you have that kind of money saved up, are you really going to want to blow it on a firearm?
There are some reasons for gun ownership that hold validity, but that is not what I'm focused on. We, as a nation, have been so allured into gun ownership it's become a lifestyle. The people that represent the pro-gun movement don't allow intellectual thought into the conversation while debating the topic, they love guns and don't want anything to interfere with that relationship.
