"One Nation Under Guns-How Gun Culture Distorts our History and Threatens Our Democracy" by Dominic Erdozain
I'm not a gun owner. I have fired a handgun at a pistol range a few times, but never developed an interest. My father was not a hunter, so guns were not part of growing up in Jersey. I have never felt the need to purchase a gun for self-protection. As far as I'm aware, friends and associates are not gun owners, but I don't know that as a fact. And it would have no bearing on anything. I think most gun owners are responsible. I also don't have a good understanding of the history of guns in America.
"One Nation Under Guns" describes the path from the Second Amendment as ratified in 1791, premised on a concern with standing armies to the current day reality of Americans possessing 400,000,000 guns. The author's basis is that our current gun culture is a fabrication of history, and he depicts the falsehoods and fantasies that created the American gun culture. Despite the novels and movies, the Wild West was not tamed by the gun. "One Nation Under Guns" convincingly demonstrates how myths and distortions evolved into the gun becoming an American birthright and a symbol of individual freedom.
According to the Gun Violence Archive (https://www.gunviolencearchive.org), there were (45) separate gun-related events in the US on March 8, 2024. These 45 gun violence events include both victims murdered or injured by guns. Suicides are not included. In Athens, GA, a 3-year old was killed and a 9-year old injured by gun violence. This is One Day in America.
According to the GV Archive, there have been (71) mass shootings between January 1, 2024 and March 8, 2024. A mass shooting is defined as "a minimum of four victims shot, either injured or killed, not including any shooter who may also have been killed or injured in the incident". Literally, a mass shooting every day. This is Two Months in America.
So, who is doing all of this? We always hear that guns need to be kept out of the wrong hands. Sounds good, but what is actually happening? Is it only a criminal population, and not the law-abiding citizens, who are using guns to kill and injure?
When you start to dig a bit deeper, the data is truly staggering. The author includes a quote from the National Violence Commission of 1969, The Commission was created by President Johnson in the aftermath of the MLK and RFK assassinations. The quote reads: "no society can remain free, much less deal effectively with its fundamental, if its people live in fear of their fellow citizens".
We often hear that guns are needed for self-defense. But the available data seems clear and consistent, and the use of guns for self-defense is a myth. This is not to suggest that self-defense and justified gun use does not exist, but it is a statistically small number of events. The reality is that most gun deaths and injuries are committed by those known by their victims. Most female murder victims are killed by male partners
In 2020, gun violence became the leading cause of death and injury for American children 17 years old and below. A disproportionate number of Black and Hispanic youths make up the majority of victims. Neighborhood, community and domestic violence are leading causes. More gun violence committed by those known to the victims. When you add mental health issues, unintentional death and injury by gun, school shootings and, unfortunately, suicides, America essentially sanctions an epidemic.
Are there alternatives to better and acceptable gun controls. Despite the polls and surveys which show national support for reasonable options, why is there resistance to sensible gun control? Or better stated, who is preventing reasonable gun control? States with weak gun laws lead the US in gun deaths. States with tougher gun laws have lower rates of gun deaths. Check the stats. It is much more dangerous to live in Alabama, New Mexico, Wyoming, Louisiana, and Mississippi than to live Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.
We can't put all this back in the bottle. No one is coming for your guns. But we can raise the bar and better protect those most susceptible to gun violence. It happens everywhere, and more likely than not, by someone known by the victim. And the primary reason the US cannot agree on reasonable national guns laws is tyranny by the minority, whether the National Rifle Association (approx. 4.3M members) and/or the politicians who continue to enable the NRA, and ignore the level of national support for reasonable controls.
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