It is a fact that tougher gun laws result in lower amounts of gun violence. But correlation is not causation. Does passing new laws really make a difference or is it simply the willingness to pass such laws?
After a 1996 shooting in Australia, that country passed strict gun laws and saw gun violence drop. But was it the laws that made the difference? After that shooting, the people of Australia were horrified and demanded that new gun laws be passed. Their attitude about gun laws had changed because their attitude about guns had changed.
In the US, we have too many guns and too much gun violence not because the laws are too lax, but because we as a people like our guns too much. We don't want tough gun laws. We choose to ignore statistics that show gun ownership actually increases the likelihood of gun violence in the home and instead accept as common wisdom that guns make us safer. We fetishize guns. We treat them as toys. We show them off to friends and brag about them. If you can afford one, why not own one? What could go wrong? We refuse to see any downside to gun ownership even when statistics show otherwise. We don’t see guns as the danger that they are because we don’t take them seriously.
Even if it means that criminals and the mentally unstable will have greater access to guns, we really don’t like the idea of restricting gun ownership. After all, “I’m not going to hurt anybody with my gun,” said everyone who has ever hurt anybody with a gun. Don’t restrict my rights to own seventeen assault rifles!
I personally don’t own any guns, so I could care less if strict gun laws were passed. Hell, you could ban them all for all I care. I'm not worried about losing the right to own something I don't want anyway. But there are way more people in this country who think it is perfectly acceptable to own seventeen assault rifles. It’s those people who won’t let gun laws change. And by those people, I mean us. Our culture won't let gun laws change.
We need to change how we think about guns. We need to stop owning them for a start. It’s really that easy. Do you have guns in your home? Do you really need them? Are they worth the risk? What kind of message are you sending to others—especially to children—through your attitude about guns and gun ownership? Want to see fewer guns and less gun violence in this country? Start at home.
Until we decide to have a grown-up conversation about our culture of guns and the danger that guns present, nothing will ever change. Because we won't let it.