Gun Control: The Seventh Paradox

Dr. Michael S. Brown
March 23, 2001
http://www.newsmax.com/commentarchive.shtml?a=2001/3/23/114438

Few public policy discussions have become so bitter and divisive as
the endless debate over guns. None is so burdened with
contradictions and misinformation. The dictionary defines a paradox
as “something or someone with seemingly contradictory qualities or
phases.” Here are seven paradoxes that have developed during the
course of this conflict:

1. Women are usually at a physical disadvantage when confronted
by a male attacker, and violence against women has been a major
societal issue. Some women know that a firearm combined with
training is a true equalizer. They have taken steps to educate
themselves and safely provide for their own security. However,
many women reject this opportunity. They seem to accept the
concept that guns are evil and promote violence. Thus, those who
could benefit most from gun ownership are least likely to own
one.

2. Police chiefs are famous for blaming crime on “guns
flooding the streets” and generally support more gun control.
However, rank-and-file police officers are overwhelmingly
opposed to stricter laws. Why the disagreement? Most police
chiefs are political appointees selected by mayors. Most mayors
favor stricter gun laws and would be unlikely to choose or keep a
chief who disagreed. Officers who work on the streets are much
more practical. They know they can’t be everywhere at once and
are usually limited to processing crimes after they have occurred.
Unlike the chiefs who are surrounded by tight security and
influential people, officers who work on the streets know all too
well what the world is like for the rest of us.

3. Celebrities and politicians who promote gun control are the
ones who don’t need to protect themselves. They have access to
the best bodyguards that money can buy. Even if the strictest
imaginable gun laws are enacted, armed men will still protect them.

4. As a result of state laws passed in recent decades, citizens in 31
states are now entitled to concealed weapons permits if they have a
clean record and fulfill various requirements. Data gained from this
change has provided important new knowledge for gun law
discussions. To the great surprise of anti-gun groups, it turns out
that permit holders are far less violent than the general
population. Even more significant is the fact that crime
decreased in the areas where permits were made available. As
one researcher put it, “more guns, less crime.”

5. Criminals victimize minorities at a much higher rate than
the general population, yet many gun control efforts such as
buy-backs and neighborhood sweeps of low-income areas are
aimed at reducing gun ownership by minorities. This paradox
has operated as long as human history. Immigrants, political
dissenters and ethnic minorities have been disarmed many times by
governments seeking to bring them under tighter control. They are
always told that it’s for their own good.

6. The position that gun issues have assumed in the political
spectrum is very interesting. Liberals, who defend the right of a
woman to have an abortion, would generally deny her the use
of a firearm to protect herself and her family. Conservatives,
who typically feel that the government should allow people to
make their own important decisions, want more government
control of personal reproductive choices. Since these are both
matters of life and death, one might expect more consistency, but
somehow the positions have become reversed.

7. The seventh paradox is the most profound. The conventional
wisdom is wrong. Gun control simply does not work as crime
control. Case after case shows that when cities, states and nations
implement gun control, crime goes up. Washington, Chicago, New
York, Australia, Britain: the list is long and getting longer as the
seductive appeal of gun control spreads. Criminologists explain that
disarming the law-abiding population makes life easier for
criminals, who are going to ignore the law anyway.

No other major political issue is so plagued by paradoxes. They
arise from a variety of sources that could serve as a list of societal
ailments: racism, sexism, classism, political corruption, excessive
media influence, fear of the unknown and honest disagreement.

Whichever side you choose to support, it is fascinating to observe
the debate.

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The author is an optometrist who moderates an e-mail list for
discussion of gun issues in Washington State. He may be contacted
by email at: [email protected]