I have intentionally said very little about the Orlando shooting because I hate that grief over the loss of life gets swept under the rug of political fighting. This isn’t political. This is public safety. Lets study it so we can make decisions based on data and research not ideology from any side.

My Facebook friends are very diverse. There has been a good deal of support for the idea as well as several European friends pointing out that internationally there is a lot of research on this issue. In reference to how the United States is handling our gun violence issue one European friend poignantly said, “the rest of the world is watching you in complete amazement.” But, there have also been some very pro-gun friends who have spoken on this thread. I encourage that. Debate is good for us. I, myself, am not anti-gun. All I was advocating in the thread was that we actually study the problem. But, one friend even challenged if gun violence is even a problem. (See ETA below) That is beyond comprehension to me.

My Freedom, Not Your Life

In this one thread, I see friends arguing that mass shootings aren’t a problem, that we are too different from other countries to look to them for any wisdom, that if we got rid of guns most of the military would defect, and implicitly they are arguing that we shouldn’t even study gun violence.

Both my wife and I grew up in rural America. She enjoyed target shooting as a teen as did I during my adolescence, though most of mine was with my BB gun. My grandfather, a lifelong hunter, died from a gun accident so my mother was never too keen on having guns around though we did get a .22 when I was in High School. If I remember correctly, it was out of concern for coyotes but never really used. But, many of my friends hunted and there was always talk about hunting season and the sounds of dove hunting were a part of my childhood. Of course, I did my share of bird hunting with my trusty BB gun… I know, not the same. I understand that for many people guns are a part of their life. I have no problem with that.

But, a quick look at gun ownership statistics is interesting. From 1973 to 2014 Gun ownership dropped from 47% of households to 31%. Hunting rates dropped from 32% to 15%. From 1993 to 2014 the number of guns owned per gun owner has gone from 2.2 to 4.7. This means that while the percentage of people who own guns and hunt with them drops there continue to be more and more guns. I presume this is, in part, because of the rise of the Ammosexual. But, what this also means is that much of the gun issue isn’t about hunting (fewer people now hunt) or self-defense (fewer people feel the need to own guns). There is a portion of our society that is more and more devoted to guns. I have seen a religious fervor develop over the Second Amendment over the last couple of decades. The statistics seem to indicate that this is due to the enthusiasm of a shrinking percentage of citizens.

When tragedies happen or murder rates are discussed, there is inevitably a cry about the right of people to own guns. It is enshrined in the Constitution. There are, of course, arguments about what the Second Amendment means and how its interpretation has changed over the years, but let’s put those aside and assume that the current pro-gun interpretation is correct. What does my right to own a gun cost others? Currently, the United States has a murder rate of approximately four times that of most industrialized “First World” countries and about 13 times that of Japan.

From 2010 to 2014 (the most recent five years reported by the FBI), we have averaged 12,612 murders, 8,600 by firearms, That means that 68% of our murders have been by firearms. If we were able to get rid of all firearm murders our murder rate would drop closer, though still above, the rate found in most other “First World” countries. If we could cut it in half, probably more reasonable, we would save over 4,000 lives. We would still be 2-3 times more murderous than comparable nations- maybe that is who we are. I tend to think not.

Even if it is true. I can’t imagine looking into the eyes of the friends and family of one of those thousands of people who we could have saved and saying, “My right to own a gun is more important than your son, daughter, husband, wife, father, mother, or friend’s life.” When we cry out about our inherent right to own a gun isn’t that really what we are doing? Those who have been killed by firearms also had an equally inherent right to life.

Now, let me be clear. I don’t know what all the answers are. Our national culture is different from other nations. The answers we come up with may be different from other nations. But, I do think we should look at our 3.9 per 100,000 murder rate and compare it to the United Kingdom’s and Australia’s 1.0, Germany’s 0.9, Japan’s 0.3, or our northern neighbor Canada’s 1.4 and be concerned. We can realize that our firearm murder rate of 2.6 is higher than all of those. That doesn’t mean that we can solve our issue the same ways they have but unless we are content that we are inherently 3-13 times more murderous than those nations then it is worth looking into and studying.

That is what has taken me aback. If nothing else we should study the issue. 8,600 people a year die from firearms. If we can make changes to save their lives we should consider it even if it is only a percentage of them. My freedom to own a gun is not worth their lives…neither is yours. There are probably sensible ways in our culture that we can preserve both our freedoms and save lives. But, if we continue to argue against studying it or even considering what other countries do we are essentially placing our right to bear arms above people’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.