February 2, 2011
As I watch the horrific events unfold in Egypt today, I can't help but think of all the debates I have heard over the years regarding firearms.
Many in this country feel that if our government were to somehow rid this country of all firearms that we would all be much safer. That somehow, the evil firearms are to blame for the amount of violence in our society. There has been violence, murder and crime since the beginning of time. Cain didn't use a firearm to kill Able, now did he?
Upon watching the above video it reminds me that even though it is the 21st century, man is still a barbarian at heart. Here you have two opposing forces, showing a level of hatred so intense, it has them digging stones out of the ground with their bare hands so they can hurl them at another human being. I'm sorry, but you just don't get any more barbaric than that. It only solidifies the fact that if someone (or group) feels strongly enough about a cause, then they will use any means necessary to overcome the opposition.
Egypt has a very low rate of firearms ownership, though firearms are not illegal to own, the firearm laws are very restrictive. The rate of private gun ownership in Egypt is 3.5 firearms per 100 people which is very low compared to most other nations of the world. In a comparison of the rate of private gun ownership in 179 countries, Egypt ranks at No. 115.
So the point I am trying to make is that firearm restriction is not the answer to our country's crime problem. You could take away all the guns and you would still have an equal amount of violence and crime. Granted, your attacker might smash your head in with a rock vs shooting you, but the end results will be the same, I promise you that.
2 comments:
Two comments:
1/ If those rioters in the video had handguns how many more deaths would have resulted? Bricks can kill, but not nearly so effectively as guns.
2/ The whole point about gun restriction is to reduce deaths. Nobody assumes that fewer guns would result in less overall crime, or less violence, or even fewer riots. But the point about firearm control is that it could possibly reduce the lethality of crime, violence, or riots.
Sounds like a bad video game.
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