This is what I like to shoot: smiles.
This is a common dilemma when it comes to smartphone photos. In a second, the decision is made, the moment is past, and the decision has had its result. All very fine, when we are talking about phones.
When I wrote my Master’s thesis, “From Reform to Terrorism: Student Radicalism in the 1960’s,” I knew nothing about guns. I had never held one or fired one. I knew many names such as “Winchester Repeating Rifle” or “Tommy gun,” or “Uzi” from history books and novels. But as soon as I started into the story of student radicalism I found myself increasingly aware of guns because the radicals, whose first tactics were sitting by flagpole for peace, plus love-ins and sit-ins, soon found their tactics were not working. Once they befriended the Black Panthers, joining Students for a Democratic Society to much angrier populations with considerable experience in the tactics of political resistance and political repression, they became increasingly radicalized. By the time Weatherman was born, its leaders were armed and dangerous, and they built their first bomb.
In my novel “Skyscrapers,” a number of characters had guns, ranging from pistols to submachine guns. How do I feel about guns? I don’t like them. I believe that the more the American audience sees heroes and heroines blasting away with submachine guns on the big screen, the more natural that activity will begin to seem. There is nothing wrong with a nurse who works the night shift and lives in a tough neighborhood carrying a pistol for self-protection, but there’s a serious risk if that purse gets opened by her five-year-old. Guns are a threat and a risk and a responsibility, and all owners should be aware of that. But in many cases, guns find their way into the hands of criminals or gang members.
Gun violence may seem normal to Americans, but it is not normal. We Americans are perpetually shipwrecked on the hostile shores of the Second Amendment which is mis-interpreted to allow gun ownership as a right. Of 28 nations (on five continents) polled for a 2011 study, the difference between a large number of gun murders or a small number lay in one simple distinction: did the nation regard gun ownership as a right or as a privilege? In 26 nations, it is a privilege, closely administered and monitored. In two, the United States and Yemen, gun ownership is regarded as a right. This weakens the government’s ability to legislate against gun ownership. The National Rifle Association, the strongest lobby in Washington, D.C., helps keep the government weak when it comes to gun control. Millions of NRA dollars help pro-gun legislators keep their seats (and votes).
Many members of the NRA are legitimate members of society. They raise cattle or they hunt deer every autumn and freeze the meat, or they enjoy pistol practice, skeet shooting, duck hunting, you name it. But none of these activities require a semi-automatic or automatic weapon such as an Uzi. It seems gun control could start by eliminating the sale of certain types of guns. Why should a scared teen ever have a loaded Uzi in his hands late at night? Teens have mood swings even if their moods are not enhanced by an illegal substance. If that teen had a pistol and fired in fear, he might miss, he might hit his target or one innocent person. If he has an Uzi, he can blast an entire group of people, with bullets spraying through bedrooms walls and windows and baby buggies. All he has to do is keep squeezing his hand.
I am in favor of gun control but obviously, gun elimination is out of the question. Gun control has an uphill fight in America, where concealed carry is gaining momentum and each state judges the subject differently. Furthermore, the press tends to confuse the public’s perceptions. In 2008, 16,272 murders were committed in the U.S. Of these, 10,886 were committed with firearms. But in a study from 2000, U.S. civilians were found to have used a gun to defend themselves 989,883 times in a single year. Usually, a defensive gun is a pistol or a rifle. When kept in the house, such weapons can contribute to statistics not quoted in the 2008 study such as suicides, and accidental or intentional shootings which were not fatal. Such incidents seldom make the press, although the headline “Almost A Million Lives Saved by Handguns This Year” would create considerable buzz.
Let’s face it, we and the Yemeni share a love affair with guns. Even as I profess myself in favor of gun control and I mean it sincerely, I remember the thrill of “cops and robbers” when I was a kid, and chasing each other around the neighborhood with cap guns a-popping. Today’s kid imitates Star Wars figures and Superheroes with bigger, fancier guns. Let’s hope their vision that does not translate into a future in which to protect ourselves all U.S. citizens, like the Yemeni, proudly carry our Uzis slung over our shoulders – along with our briefcases and purses.
About the Author
