Guns in America.
Since the birth of a nation, in truth and folklore, the gun is deeply embedded in American culture. And most of us, even in Australia are aware of the much cited Second Amendment to the US Constitution – which reads:
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Arguably a simple, basic amendment to protect the people from its government…
But this right to bear arms has resulted in a country saturated with guns, where going to primary school, the shops, a gig may result in you being fatally shot by a fellow citizen.
It’s a country where the widespread adoption of “stand your ground” laws explicitly allow people to use guns as a first resort for self-defence in the face of a threat.
It’s a country of carnage, where – according to the Gun Violence Archive – so far in 2022 – there have been over 18,000 gun violence deaths – and over 230 mass shootings.
And on May 24th in Uvalde, Texas – a teenage gunman shot his grandmother, then armed with an Automatic Rifle and wearing body armour stormed a local primary school, killing 19 children and two teachers.
The shooter had legally purchased two Automatic Rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at a local gun shop days before the massacre.
The Automatic Rifle is often seen as a metaphor of core American values — freedom, might, self-reliance – an embodiment of the second amendment right to bear arms.
It is astonishing to research this subject. It is gobsmacking to look at the stats and figures, the charts, graphs and maps across the US showing gun usage and killings – including stats like gun violence is now the leading cause of death for American children; that there are more guns than people; where almost every person lives in a household with a gun; that in 2020 alone, Americans purchased 17 million guns – and US gun manufacturers produced 11 million firearms…
It is just astounding.
It seems that in a society where Americans are in an arms race with themselves, the constitutional right to bear arms is a murderous feedback loop. That to feel safe from each other, you need a firearm because everyone else has the same fear and they also have firearms…
But with most Americans keen for gun control measures – like background checks or a ban on military-grade weapons – their politicians seem reluctant for any change. Why?
What is it about the US that gun-law-reform may never happen?
Can the militia ever be well-regulated?
To discuss this, I’m joined by Dr Emma Shortis – Lecturer in the Social and Global Studies Centre at RMIT University, whose recent article in the Conversation: “American exceptionalism: the poison that cannot protect its children from violent death” – cogently examines US gun culture. It is an excellent read piece on the issue…
Dr Emma Shortis is a Lecturer in the Social and Global Studies Centre at RMIT University.
American exceptionalism: the poison that cannot protect its children from violent death
- https://theconversation.com/american-exceptionalism-the-poison-that-cannot-protect-its-children-from-violent-death-184045