National Rifle Association (NRA) has been loosening gun laws for 20 years while more mass shooting and violent crimes take place and rising gun sales are underway in the US. NRA has kept preaching that “more guns will make the country safer.” 1 Their endeavor has made “permitless carry” laws pass in 5 states and 5 more in progress. If those laws are attained, 1/3 of US citizens will live in states where there is no need for a license, training, or background check to own a gun. 2 Also, over 300 Million guns are possessed in the country, which surprisingly means that one per one citizen. 3
The strong idea behind possessing guns owes to its value rooted in history. Self-protection in the Wild West was inevitable in those days and carrying a gun was embedded into the citizen’s identity, which can be traced in the Second Amendment.
Since, the gun not only empowers the gunner but also harms others, idea of “deterrence” has derived. However, if we take ourselves one step back and ponder the word for a while, we recognize that this is a very tricky word saying “I will shoot you, so don’t attack.” Inferring that the “things remain safe” while negative reinforcement goes on. If this is called “peace,” people in the US are living in a vulnerable world where there is no room to let their guard down. “Peace” in the US is very fragile and permitless gun law will easily lend hand to collapse even such “peace” by the humans.
Another idea that comes to mind when accepting the fact there is a country like Japan, where it is illegal to carry guns and almost scarce gun crimes happen in daily lives 4, “peace” and “safety” are something that the citizens need to harness on their own. US needs arms to gain “peace,” however, Japan prohibits guns to maintain “peace.” Every country has its own cultural, social, economical, and political background, however, each of these factors will come into play to generate peaceful or non-peaceful outcome. After all, society is made of the choices of the citizens. It is preferrable that all countries will find their comfortable threshold of peace to keep their country in healthy state not being halted by an extreme phobia.
3. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/abekasumi/20190809-00137497/ 4. https://www.nippon.com/en/features/h00178/
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