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How would you create a causal argument? The gun control that works: no guns Publication info: The Economist (Online) ; London (Dec 15, 2012). ProQuest document link ABSTRACT In addition to criminal-record checks, the police talk to applicants family doctors and ask about any histories of alcohol or drug abuse or personality disorders. FULL TEXT   Why meaningful gun control is not going to happen I HESITATE to offer thoughts about the school shooting in Connecticut that has seen 20 children and seven adults murdered and the gunman also dead. Your correspondent has been in the rural Midwest researching a column and heard the news on the car radio. Along with a sense of gloom, I found I mostly wanted to see my own, elementary- school-age children back home in Washington, DC, and had little desire to listen to pundits of any stripe: hence my reluctance to weigh in now. To be fair, on NPR, the liberal columnist E.J. Dionne had sensible things to say about President Barack Obamas statement on the killings, and how it was probably significant when the president seemed to suggest that he was minded to take action on gun control, and never mind the politics. On the same show the moderate conservative columnist, David Brooks, expressed sensible caution about assuming that stricter gun controls could have stopped this particular shooting. Switching to red-blooded conservative talk radio, I found two hosts offering a move along, nothing to see here defence of the status quo. One suggested that listeners should not torment themselves trying to understand craziness, though it would, the pair agreed, be understandable if some parents were tempted to remove their children from public education and homeschool them. To that debate, all I can offer is the perspective of someone who has lived and worked in different corners of the world, with different gun laws. Here is my small thought. It is quite possible, perhaps probable, that stricter gun laws of the sort that Mr Obama may or may not be planning, would not have stopped the horrible killings of this morning. But that is a separate question from whether it is a good idea to allow private individuals to own guns. And that, really, is what I think I understand by gun control. Once you have guns in circulation, in significant numbers, I suspect that specific controls on things like automatic weapons or large magazines can have only marginal effects. Once lots of other people have guns, it becomes rational for you to want your own too. The first time that I was posted to Washington, DC some years ago, the capital and suburbs endured a frightening few days at the hands of a pair of snipers, who took to killing people at random from a shooting position they had established in the boot of a car. I remember meeting a couple of White House correspondents from American papers, and hearing one say: but the strange thing is that Maryland (where most of the killings were taking place) https://www.proquest.com/magazines/gun-control-that-works-no-guns/docview/1238962414/se-2?accountid=11033 https://www.proquest.com/magazines/gun-control-that-works-no-guns/docview/1238962414/se-2?accountid=11033 has really strict gun laws. And I remember thinking: from the British perspective, those arent strict gun laws. Strict laws involve having no guns. After a couple of horrible mass shootings in Britain, handguns and automatic weapons have been effectively banned. It is possible to own shotguns, and rifles if you can demonstrate to the police that you have a good reason to own one, such as target shooting at a gun club, or deer stalking, say. The firearms-ownership rules are onerous, involving hours of paperwork. You must provide a referee who has to answer nosy questions about the applicants mental state, home life (including family or domestic tensions) and their attitude towards guns. In addition to criminal-record checks, the police talk to applicants family doctors and ask about any histories of alcohol or drug abuse or personality disorders. Vitally, it is also very hard to get hold of ammunition. Just before leaving Britain in the summer, I had lunch with a member of parliament whose constituency is plagued with gang violence and drug gangs. She told me of a shooting, and how it had not led to a death, because the gang had had to make its own bullets, which did not work well, and how this was very common, according to her local police commander. Even hardened criminals willing to pay for a handgun in Britain are often getting only an illegally modified starters pistol turned into a single-shot weapon. And, to be crude, having few guns does mean that few people get shot. In 2008-2009, there were 39 fatal injuries from crimes involving firearms in England and Wales, with a population about one sixth the size of Americas. In America, there were 12,000 gun-related homicides in 2008. I would also say, to stick my neck out a bit further, that I find many of the arguments advanced for private gun ownership in America a bit unconvincing, and tinged with a blend of excessive self-confidence and faulty risk perception. I am willing to believe that some householders, in some cases, have defended their families from attack because they have been armed. But I also imagine that lots of ordinary adults, if woken in the night by an armed intruder, lack the skill to wake, find their weapon, keep hold of their weapon, use it correctly and avoid shooting the wrong person. And my hunch is that the model found in places like Japan or Britain--no guns in homes at all, or almost none--is on balance safer. As for the National Rifle Association bumper stickers arguing that only an armed citizenry can prevent tyranny, I wonder if that isnt a form of narcissism, involving the belief that lone, heroic individuals will have the ability to identify tyranny as it descends, recognise it for what it is, and fight back. There is also the small matter that I dont think America is remotely close to becoming a tyranny, and to suggest that it is is both irrational and a bit offensive to people who actually do live under tyrannical rule. Nor is it the case that the British are relaxed about being subjects of a monarch, or are less fussed about freedoms. A conservative law professor was recently quoted in the papers saying he did not want to live in a country where the police were armed and the citizens not. I fear in Britain, at least, native gun-distrust goes even deeper than that: the British dont even like their police to be armed (though more of them are than in the past). But here is the thing. The American gun debate takes place in America, not Britain or Japan. And banning all guns is not about to happen (and good luck collecting all 300m guns currently in circulation, should such a law be passed). It would also not be democratic. I personally dislike guns. I think the private ownership of guns is a tragic mistake. But a majority of Americans disagree with me, some of them very strongly. And at a certain point, when very large majorities disagree with you, a bit of deference is in order. So in short I am not sure that tinkering with gun control will stop horrible massacres like todays. And I am pretty sure that the sort of gun control that would work--banning all guns--is not going to happen. So I have a feeling that even a more courageous debate than has been heard for some time, with Mr Obama proposing gun-control laws that would have been unthinkable in his first term, will not change very much at all. Hence the gloom. DETAILS LINKS Linking Service Subject: Firearm laws &regulations; Gangs; Families &family life; Mass murders; Shootings; Violent crime; Massacres; Firearms Location: Washington DC United Kingdom--UK United States--US Publication title: The Economist (Online); London Publication year: 2012 Publication date: Dec 15, 2012 Publisher: The Economist Newspaper NA, Inc. Place of publication: London Country of publication: United Kingdom, London Publication subject: Business And Economics Source type: Magazine Language of publication: English Document type: NEWS ProQuest document ID: 1238962414 Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/magazines/gun-control-that-works-no- guns/docview/1238962414/se-2?accountid=11033 Copyright: (Copyright 2012 The Economist Newspaper Ltd. All rights reserved.) Last updated: 2021-09-09 Database: ProQuest Central https://www.proquest.com/magazines/gun-control-that-works-no-guns/docview/1238962414/se-2?accountid=11033 https://www.proquest.com/magazines/gun-control-that-works-no-guns/docview/1238962414/se-2?accountid=11033 https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/branding/gamc/FullTextFinder.html?title=The\%20gun\%20control\%20that\%20works:\%20no\%20guns&author=&ISSN=&article=The\%20gun\%20control\%20that\%20works:\%20no\%20guns:\%20Gun\%20control&spage=&volume= Database copyright  2021 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest https://www.proquest.com/info/termsAndConditions http://about.proquest.com/go/pqissupportcontact The gun control that works: no guns The NRAs true colors Anonymous . Boston Globe ; Boston, Mass. [Boston, Mass]. 17 Jan 2013: A.18. ProQuest document link ABSTRACT   First came the bizarre, animated press conference at which its vice president, Wayne LaPierre, insisted that good guys be armed to protect themselves from bad guys with guns. FULL TEXT   The nation keeps learning more about the National Rifle Association. First came the bizarre, animated press conference at which its vice president, Wayne LaPierre, insisted that good guys be armed to protect themselves from bad guys with guns. Then, last Sunday, NRA president David Keene blithely vowed to block all progress on gun control in Congress, as if issuing orders to an army of robot congressmen. And now comes an NRA video calling President Obama an elitist hypocrite for having Secret Service protection for his daughters while failing to embrace the NRAs demand for armed guards in every school. Its been a lesson that voters shouldnt forget -- about the extremism of the NRAs gun advocacy; about the extent to which certain powerful lobbies have twisted feckless politicians around their fingers; and about how crass the NRA can be in attacking those who dare to defy it. On Tuesday, Obama signed executive orders to tighten the federal background check system, beef up firearms tracing, and study gun violence through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As expected, he urged Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban, require criminal background checks for all gun sales, and limit the sale of high-capacity clips. All are sensible measures that do little to disrupt any law-abiding person who wishes to buy a gun for hunting, collecting, target practice, or self-protection. One would think the NRA might temper its tone in deference to parents who are worried about assault weapons in the wake of the Newtown massacre. A Gallup poll released on Monday found more Americans supporting tougher gun laws than at any time in a decade, and other recent polls suggest that even many gun owners disagree with the NRAs inflexible stances. Yesterday, Obama noted the gun lobbys frantic attempts to gin up fear against any common-sense reform. Meanwhile, the NRA was proving him right by dragging his two daughters into the debate. DETAILS Subject: Firearm laws &regulations; Firearms; Editorials -- National Rifle Association--NRA Company / organization: Name: Congress; NAICS: 921120; Name: National Rifle Association--NRA; NAICS: 813410, 813940 Publication title: Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nras-true-colors/docview/1269957114/se-2?accountid=11033 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nras-true-colors/docview/1269957114/se-2?accountid=11033 LINKS Linking Service Database copyright  2021 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest Pages: A.18 Publication year: 2013 Publication date: Jan 17, 2013 Section: EditorialOpinion Publisher: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC Place of publication: Boston, Mass. Country of publication: United States, Boston, Mass. Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States ISSN: 07431791 Source type: Newspaper Language of publication: English Document type: Editorial ProQuest document ID: 1269957114 Document URL: https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nras-true-colors/docview/1269957114/se- 2?accountid=11033 Copyright: (c) The Boston Globe Jan 17, 2013 Last updated: 2017-11-19 Database: Global Newsstream,ProQuest Central https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nras-true-colors/docview/1269957114/se-2?accountid=11033 https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/nras-true-colors/docview/1269957114/se-2?accountid=11033 https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/branding/gamc/FullTextFinder.html?title=The\%20NRAs\%20true\%20colors&author=Anonymous&ISSN=07431791&article=The\%20NRAs\%20true\%20colors:\%20gun-control\%20debate;\%20gun-control\%20debate&spage=A.18&volume= https://www.proquest.com/info/termsAndConditions http://about.proquest.com/go/pqissupportcontact The NRAs true colors