This time I am going to step outside of the ring and write about something I feel is an urgent issue that is deeply dividing the people back in the United States where I am originally from. That issue is gun control.
Recently, with the rise in senseless mass murders in movie theatres, elementary schools, universities and shopping malls, the question of whether it is time to restrict, outlaw or otherwise ban certain guns, known as assault rifles, or guns in general rages on daily. The debate is a heated one, massive coverage by the talking heads in the media rant on in protest against or passionately for such changes in the laws. As I watch and listen, it becomes apparent to me that a solution is not even close to being approached and whatever decision is reached, millions of Americans are not going to be satisfied.
Without hesitation, the senseless deaths that occurred to so many innocent victims has to be held in the deepest of compassion and sympathy to the families. Homicidal maniacs with legal access to weapons unloading rapid fire rounds randomly into crowded theatres or classrooms is a tragedy of unfathomable consideration.
The arguments now is whether to ban assault rifles such as the AK-47, SKS, Bushmaster and other weapons capable of firing multiple rounds in seconds. Some are of the belief that all guns should be banned as they are in most other countries. The other side of the argument is that the United States Constitution guarantees the right of private citizens to keep and bear arms, initially at the time of the writing, to maintain a well armed militia. How do we respond to the fact that over 10,000 people every year are killed by guns in the United States as opposed to a few dozen or less in other developed countries that outlaw private ownership of guns? If there were no guns, obviously, there would be no gun deaths. Everyone can agree with the obvious logic of that, however, to attempt to eliminate more than 300 million guns currently held by private citizens, not to mention the guns in the hands of criminals, is clearly an impossible task. The proverbial horse has gotten out of the barn, it is far too late to lock the door now. Stricter laws? Criminals commit crimes with the belief that they will never get caught, in fact most never do. 90% of murders go unsolved in America. In The Philippines when Fernando Marcos outlawed guns with the death penalty for violators, there were still gun murders. It isn't going to be laws that control gun violence.
America's fascination with guns is part of our national DNA. We are born and the first thing that is placed in our little hands is a rattle in the shape of a pistol. At age 5 we are shooting cap gun that made some realistic pops, at age 7 we get a BB gun and shoot frogs in the creek, by age 12 we go out with our dads with our first squirrel rifle and by age 18 we are in the military firing automatic weapons in one of our wars in the name of patriotism. I recall some of my first toys were guns of every sort. Cowboy guns, army rifles, cop guns. Our movies were cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, and war movies. Shoot'emups were the action movies we enjoyed. As time went on, the movie and television industry made more violent movies and shows. People that were shot did not just fall off their horses, they exploded in magnificent Technicolor. With the advent of computer games the action became hands on and personal. More and more violent computer games are being invented everyday. The bad guys are more challenging, better armed and getting them before they get you is the way to win.
The media can turn the thinking and opinions of the American public better than anything else. For proof, consider how the sponsors of the movies back in the 40s and 50s got their products marketed massively. Those sponsors were cigarette manufacturers. Every star and starlet smoked. They did not get parts in films if they didn't smoke. When cigarette makers began producing lighters, cigarettes were lit with those lighters. The tobacco industry became a multi-billion dollar industry. Health risks were minimized or ignored. Then came the anti-smoking campaigns prevalent in the 80s and 90s and even today. Massive anti smoking advertising showing graphically those health risks began to curtail smoking. It was no longer popular to smoke. You no longer see as much of it in movies and television. The success was slow to move millions of people away from the glamorization of smoking but eventually the tide turned. If the success of anti-smoking is any indicator of the power of the media, perhaps it is time to use the media to turn popular thinking away from gun violence.
Impossible? Smoking is a lot more pleasurable and alluring that shooting someone. What would motivate the film industry to stop making movies containing graphic violence which produces billions of dollars annually? The same thing that motivates every industry in America, money. The U.S. government pays farmers not to grow corn to regulate the pricing. It gives tax incentives to multi-million dollar businesses to keep their operations in the United States to keep American workers employed. It spends billions of dollars a year in wars overseas. Could that money be better spent saving the lives of innocent Americans who want to be safe in their own communities? While the First Amendment prohibits outlawing violent films, the answer would be to subsidize film makers who develop projects that are entertaining without violence. If what we see and hear is what we become, then it behooves the government to encourage an environment that would enhance our safety and security.
While this solution is far more passive than anything currently being proposed by either side of the gun control argument, it is an already proven effective tool to bring about the results that would be agreeable to all sides of the debate.
Do people still smoke? Sure they do, but in far fewer numbers. If film makers produced nothing but tame movies, comedies and dramas, would the killings all stop? Of course not, but can we as a society accept, as a success, far fewer incidents of random violence by guns? I am sure that we can. It will take decades to turn the mentality and glorification of guns around. There will always be sportsmen, hunters, target shooters and collectors of guns that by and large, have not been the source of concern. Their healthy respect for guns prevents accidents and tragedies. Safety regarding guns is what is learned before the first shot is ever fired. At home guns are usually secured with a gun lock or gun safe. It is the youth of America obsessed with violent video games and movies that need to be focused upon. The mass murders which have occurred in recent years in America have been the actions of people under the age of 25.
If we start now, we embark on a path of deliverance and we have to start somewhere. Every other avenue taunting a solution is flawed. The Second Amendment is not going to be repealed. Gun owners are not going to surrender their guns and criminals certainly are not. Stricter gun laws will not deter criminals who do not believe they will ever be caught. Guns do not kill people. People do not kill people. Gun mentality embedded in the minds of impressionable people is what kills people.
To put out a fire you hose down the base and source of the flames not spraying at the smoke. We will put out this fire the same way. While it does admittedly prop up television news ratings, waving at the smoke is not doing anything more in America than keeping an issue raging. Meanwhile, thousands more will die this year and that is something that no one can accept any longer.
~~ Jim Killon