Some years ago I inherited a book titled Steel Canvas: The Art of American Arms by R.L.Wilson. It is a beautifully illustrated study of weapon engraving and embellishment from the Kentucky long rifle to the Winchesters, Remingtons and Colts of the middle and late 1800’s. These guns were more than weapons; they were objects of beauty and admiration. From the time of the Kentucky rifle to the present, many or even most, male Americans have had some relationship with guns. I got my first gun for my 9th birthday - a nice little pump .22 rifle. After that I owned several guns, but that was a long time ago. Most of the people I knew growing up had guns, they were just part of what we did - some target shooting, some hunting, and I guess some self protection, although I don’t remember anyone ever talking about that. We children played cowboys and Indians and war, but it was just that - play. No one talked about the dark side of guns and there were no shooter drills in school. Times change.
This week there is more terror in school hallways, more dead children, more ‘thoughts and prayers’. And more fruitless calls to DO SOMETHING! Doing something is harder than we realize. I have seen several articles puzzling over the US death rate, comparing our gun culture with comparable rates of gun ownership and ‘gun culture’ in other countries, notably Canada but recently also Italy, of all places. Here’s the thing: our gun culture is very different from other countries’ gun culture. In the US, there are three interlocking phenomena that make the grip of guns and death exceptional.
The first is that in the US, guns are special. As I said above, we Americans have had a long and powerful relationship with guns. Guns have their very own constitutional amendment, which in recent years has been interpreted to raise gun ownership and use to the highest legal pinnacle, above every other right. The slightest effort to manage gun ownership and use is attacked by powerful politicians, who get extensive media coverage. Gun ownership is generally recognized as basic to what it means to be an American.
Second, we learn from an early age that guns solve problems. Some of these problems concern personal protection - many public figures make a point of carrying a gun wherever they go. The phrase ‘the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun’ is wheeled out at every opportunity. Got a problem with self image? Been feeling less like a man lately? Advertising by gun manufacturers offers an instant solution - just buy a gun, especially some faux military piece modeled after the AR-15. Got a beef with someone? Our media has been offering guns as solutions to interpersonal problems since the late 1800’s. Western movies have mostly gone out of style, but there are plenty of other thrillers offering instruction on how to solve any problem with a gun. Feel mad? Point a gun at someone. Feel bad? Point the gun at yourself. We are understandably upset by mass shootings, but most gun deaths are individual, from suicides to domestic violence to personal disagreements. ‘Stand your ground’ laws encourage gun violence, and it works - states with such laws have higher gun homicide rates.
Third, guns are ubiquitous. In most states it is easier to buy a gun than it is to buy a car. In every state it is far easier to qualify to shoot a gun than it is to qualify to drive a car. Currently, 24 states do not require a permit to carry a gun, while every state requires a driving test to get a drivers license. In most states controlled by Republicans, the response to the rise in gun violence has been to lessen or eliminate gun controls. There is a lot of pious talk about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, but efforts to control straw purchases and require that guns have trigger locks or be otherwise secured are routinely blocked. Background checks and red flag laws are blocked or watered down in most state legislatures.
The result of all of this is a gun culture that encompasses most of the country, even though over half of all households have no guns at all. While polls say that a majority of voters support gun controls such as background checks and red flag laws, few politicians lose elections for being against gun controls, and many politicians have been booted for being in favor of gun controls. Gun fans vote their convictions while gun control fans mostly do not.
So here is our paradox: we cannot control guns because guns are special and because guns are special we cannot institute controls. The steady, day-to-day drumbeat of gun deaths does not get our attention. For awhile I thought the brutal publicity of mass shootings would lead to some effective controls, but I no longer expect significant changes. The gun culture, with its long history and intertwined social power has so far been stronger than all the forces of reform.
For now we have to recognize that, to paraphrase an old saying:
“Americans love their guns more than they love their children; and they love their children very much.”