- Few public policy discussions have become so
bitter and divisive as the endless debate over guns. None is so
burdened with contradictions and misinformation. The dictionary
defines a paradox as "something or someone with seemingly
contradictory qualities or phases." Here are seven paradoxes
that have developed during the course of this conflict:
-
- 1. Women are usually at a physical
disadvantage when confronted by a male attacker, and violence
against women has been a major societal issue. Some women know that
a firearm combined with training is a true equalizer. They have
taken steps to educate themselves and safely provide for their own
security. However, many women reject this opportunity. They seem to
accept the concept that guns are evil and promote violence. Thus, those
who could benefit most from gun ownership are least likely to own
one.
-
- 2. Police chiefs are famous for blaming
crime on "guns flooding the streets" and generally support
more gun control. However, rank-and-file police officers are
overwhelmingly opposed to stricter laws. Why the disagreement?
Most police chiefs are political appointees selected by mayors. Most
mayors favor stricter gun laws and would be unlikely to choose or
keep a chief who disagreed. Officers who work on the streets are
much more practical. They know they can't be everywhere at once and
are usually limited to processing crimes after they have occurred.
Unlike the chiefs who are surrounded by tight security and
influential people, officers who work on the streets know all too
well what the world is like for the rest of us.
-
- 3. Celebrities and politicians who promote
gun control are the ones who don't need to protect themselves.
They have access to the best bodyguards that money can buy. Even if
the strictest imaginable gun laws are enacted, armed men will still
protect them.
-
- 4. As a result of state laws passed in recent
decades, citizens in 31 states are now entitled to concealed weapons
permits if they have a clean record and fulfill various
requirements. Data gained from this change has provided important
new knowledge for gun law discussions. To the great surprise of
anti-gun groups, it turns out that permit holders are far less
violent than the general population. Even more significant is the
fact that crime decreased in the areas where permits were made
available. As one researcher put it, "more guns, less
crime."
-
- 5. Criminals victimize minorities at a
much higher rate than the general population, yet many gun control
efforts such as buy-backs and neighborhood sweeps of low-income
areas are aimed at reducing gun ownership by minorities. This
paradox has operated as long as human history. Immigrants, political
dissenters and ethnic minorities have been disarmed many times by
governments seeking to bring them under tighter control. They are
always told that it's for their own good.
-
- 6. The position that gun issues have assumed
in the political spectrum is very interesting. Liberals, who
defend the right of a woman to have an abortion, would generally
deny her the use of a firearm to protect herself and her family.
Conservatives, who typically feel that the government should allow
people to make their own important decisions, want more government
control of personal reproductive choices. Since these are both
matters of life and death, one might expect more consistency, but
somehow the positions have become reversed.
-
- 7. The seventh paradox is the most profound.
The conventional wisdom is wrong. Gun control simply does not work
as crime control. Case after case shows that when cities, states and
nations implement gun control, crime goes up. Washington, Chicago,
New York, Australia, Britain: the list is long and getting longer as
the seductive appeal of gun control spreads. Criminologists explain
that disarming the law-abiding population makes life easier for
criminals, who are going to ignore the law anyway.
-
- No other major political issue is so plagued
by paradoxes. They arise from a variety of sources that could serve
as a list of societal ailments: racism, sexism, classism, political
corruption, excessive media influence, fear of the unknown and
honest disagreement.
-
- Whichever side you choose to support, it is
fascinating to observe the debate.
- -------------------------------
- The author is an optometrist who moderates an
e-mail list for discussion of gun issues in Washington State. He may
be contacted by email at: mb@e-z.net
|
