AP reporter laments no gun control debate after spate of shootings.
An article by Deborah Hastings of the Associated Press laments the fact that the recent spate of shootings that resulted in 57 deaths since March 10 has not resulted in a renewed gun debate. She makes the point that nearly every gunman in the recent “mass” killings was legally entitled to “fire” weapons. To correct a point, it should read nearly every gunman was legally entitled to own a weapon, not fire a weapon. The legality of firing a weapon depends on the circumstances.
While everyone agrees that the shootings are tragic, they need to be seen in the context of the number of legally owned firearms in the United States. Various estimates place the number of legally owned firearms in the United States at about 200 million. Almost 50 % of households own one or more firearms. No math is necessary to see that the vast majority of legally owned firearms are never used to commit crimes such as the ones Deborah Hastings writes about.
The other overlooked fact (often intentionally) is that there are an estimated 2.5 – 3 million defensive uses of firearms in the United States every year. That is 2.5 – 3 million instances were a violent crime was prevented by someone who legally owned a firearm. Clearly the answer to preventing crimes like the shootings that killed 57 people is not to make it even more difficult for citizens to legally buy and own firearms. When you do that you are going to have 2.5 – 3 million more victims every year.
No law can guarantee that someone who legally buys or owns a firearm will not someday snap and kill someone in a senseless shooting. But those who do use legally obtained firearms to commit crimes are few compared to the millions who use them every year to defend themselves and their families from criminals.
