Excellent opinion piece on US gun control from the SMH

[joeychen]

A great opinion piece from the SMH. I completely agree.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/perverse-logic-where-gun-madness-is-untouchable/2006/10/04/1159641392483.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

I'm not saying Australia is perfect, we're far from it, but at least we have better gun control laws and don't hold onto century old outdated ideas about them.

Comments

[scarletwench.livejournal.com]

The alienated, molested and impoverished do strike back with guns here. Part of our evening news.

Australia, I assume, has less unemployment and less sexual shame (which directly leads to sexual victumization)?

[joeychen.livejournal.com]

no, we just have better gun control laws, and don't think, in the 21st century, that's it's our 'right' or that we even need to bear arms

[scarletwench.livejournal.com]

I used to think that was the answer to the question. However, I was surprised by some of the facts uncovered in Bowling for Columbine. They have plenty of guns in Canada and hardly any murders there. Our murder rate may have far more to do with social issue than with gun control.

However, I'm still down with much stricter gun control. The author is right that our politicians are way too afraid of the NRA.

[joeychen.livejournal.com]

is there a clear link between sexual shame/victimisation and gun violence?

Yes, I agree there's clearly social issues at work too, but for Australia at least, what I think helps is our attitude towards guns. There are guns in Australia, you can get a gun in Australia if you need one. Plenty of people (especially in the country areas) have them I'm sure. But they're just not looked at as something everyone needs for protection/revenge whatever. Australia is more of a socialist country than the US, if there is a social issue going on, it is probably easier to get help for it in Australia.

re the Australia and Canada thing, maybe that's related to the whole Commonwealth thing.

[emily-hahn.livejournal.com]

maybe that's related to the whole Commonwealth thing

That's probably a good explanation about the difference in social attitudes. But the main difference really is in lobbying and the gun industry here - they wield an enormous amount of power and influence over federal legislation and attitudes. They can claim that it has to do with the 2nd Ammendment and the Revolution, but at this point in history, it's all about money and power. Same priorities as Big Tobacco (also a holdover from colonial days??).

It has caused me to rethink some of my objections to Bowling for Columbine about how the stats used in it are kind of subjective - you can look at the rate of gun violence in the US versus other countries and there's no arguing it's only a problem here. But what bothered me about that argument was how it didn't take into account other types of violence, specifically rape and domestic violence. Compared to almost all the countries I've been to (except for the UK and Cuba), the US has a much lower rate of violence against women and more progressive social values in regards to gender relations. But after two incidents of girls being targeted in this way?! I don't know what to think anymore - maybe it's just not as overt here as it is in Latin America.