There are a few things I do have to say about guns.
- First, I noticed people mentioned slavery in the United States. It's interesting because there is an old saying in the American West. People used to say that Abraham Lincoln may have freed the slaves but Samuel Colt made them equal. He was already dead by then but his guns helped freedmen stay free. Blacks in post-Civil War America faced a lot of shit and despite what you've seen in Hollywood films, a large percentage of American Cowboys were actually former slaves since there was far less discrimination in the open west as opposed to the more populated east. They were good at the work that was required on the ranches and finding work out there wasn't a problem. Also, nobody was going to fuck with a former slave with a gun.
- Second, some well known peace loving people actually support gun ownership. This includes Mahatma Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. Isn't that something. The people who supported non violence also believed people should arm themselves. I also know that in the United States in particular, the places that have the more strict gun laws also seem to have the higher crime rates. This is because even though the law can restrict law abiding citizens from getting guns, it doesn't stop criminals from getting their hands on them.
I'm not a gun nut. I don't own a gun and I probably don't have any intentions on owning a gun any time soon. But here's my position. The more you try to ban guns, the worse things will be. History has taught us that when you try to ban something, it makes the problem worse. America banned alcohol in the 1920's and not only did it generate criminal organizations, more people were drinking than ever. More recently, we declared war on drugs. Look how that turned out. There are a few places like Japan where citizens do not own guns and the police forces are lightly armed, but I think that's more of a cultural thing than anything else.
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