Who is responsible for gun violence? Whose problem is it? Is it really the sole responsibility of an individual? Or does the society that surrounds us also play a role?
by Mauve Maude
August 7, 2019
If there is one thing Americans can find to agree on, regarding gun violence, it’s that it must stop, surely. Nobody, gun owner or not, wants to be shot while shopping at the grocery store, going to yoga, or seeing a movie. Nobody, criminal or not, wants their child shot at school, or by an estranged domestic partner, or on a playground, or by accident. Nor does anybody–be they hunters, law enforcement, military, or clergy–want their babies to grow up to be mass killers, gang members, or murderers of any other kind. And even the most ardent of law-abiding gun enthusiasts will usually tell you that although they would shoot to kill if necessary, they don’t wish to.
But there is also one truth we can’t ignore. Rarely does a gun shoot anybody without a hand on the trigger. And no hand ever gunned anyone down without a gun.
The creation of guns we can’t undo. The ability to put a hole in another being’s body is a reality we’ve all lived with generations over, whether or not we’ve chosen to adopt that ability for ourselves. The question of what existed first–danger or fear–is most likely irrelevant. We were once surrounded by danger or the fear of it, from that came the gun, and now here we are. And we’ll always be surrounded by those smoky, circling ghosts. We could destroy every gun on the planet, or try. We’d still fear danger.
So, although we usually, ultimately lay incidental responsibility for gun violence at the feet of a shooter, or shooters, assuming we can find them, we are still left with a question. Who is responsible for gun violence? Whose problem is it? Is it really the sole responsibility of an individual? Or does the society that surrounds us also play a role?
Gun safety groups have sprouted up all over the country in recent decades, having taken the simple stance that somebody has to do something–anything–to solve this problem. This assumes the idea of safety in numbers–that ultimately we’re all responsible, that we’ll all be affected in one way or another. It begs that our individual chances of being harmed are lessened by group action. But that stance has run into its share of issues, not the least of which is the lack of firm data on how gun violence affects Americans. Resistance shows up among those who don’t want the wider safety net.
Individual responsibility, reserved solely for individuals and their families, as safe and respectable gun owners, assumes the idea that safety will fan out from one individual to the other. This is the very idea of the Second Amendment, as we interpret it today. Individual responsibility, however, is not to be taken lightly, as this story from Texas will tell.
I will continue to explore this topic over the coming days. If you would like to keep an eye on the issue in the meantime, you can find the latest information here.
What do you think? I would like to hear from you, but you won’t find the typical Comments section here. If you have given the issue some thought or have an experience to share, please enter it here, or send your response to Maude@mauvereport.com. I would like to share viewpoints from all sides.