Why Attacks Changed Gun Attitudes

The way that Americans feel about guns has undergone a sudden and unexpected
change since the attacks of 9-11. Regulatory agencies, gun retailers, and
safety instructors all report a sharp increase in activity. Many purchasers
are
women, first-time buyers, and those who previously held anti-gun views.

Societal issues normally undergo gradual, pendulum-like swings, but this one
is
changing with astounding speed. It took roughly forty years for the gun
control
movement to convince a large portion of the population that guns caused
violence
and were too dangerous for ordinary citizens to possess. It has taken less
than
one year for the tide to change.

The most obvious reasons for this rapid transformation are directly related
to
the terrorist attacks. For example, the almost unanimous call for military
action makes it seem hypocritical to label guns as evil instruments when we
are
asking our military to wield them on our behalf.

The fact that the attacks were carried out without a single gun was a
wake-up
call to even the most ardent anti-gun activists. While they were
concentrating
on the dangers of guns, they ignored the reality that people with evil
intent
are the real threat.

Leftist filmmaker Michael Moore, in the process of finishing an anti-gun
documentary, made this dramatic statement that probably expresses the
feelings
of many at his end of the political spectrum:

“This started out as a documentary on gun violence in America, but the
largest
mass murder in our history was just committed — without the use of a single
gun! Not a single bullet fired!… I can’t stop thinking about this. A
thousand
gun control laws would not have prevented this massacre. What am I doing?”

I believe this widespread attitude adjustment would have been impossible if
not
for the results of the last presidential election. Political analysts
declared
that support for tougher gun control laws lost the election for Al Gore.
Although this is probably an exaggeration, Democratic politicians fled from
the
issue as if it were the kiss of death.

Liberal voters were free to rethink their position on guns without feeling
disloyal to their party. They began to notice the failure of gun control
laws
and “gun free zones” in other countries, as well as in various states and
cities. They started reading articles by Prof. John Lott, author of “More
Guns,
Less Crime.” Doubts developed about the politically correct view of gun
ownership. These doubts suddenly fit in with the new picture created on
9-11.

As soon as details of the boxcutter hijackings became public, millions of
people
shared a single thought. These attacks never would have succeeded if a
single
person with a handgun and a cool head had been in the right place at the
right
time.

The ease with which terrorists eluded our security measures made us all
aware of
how vulnerable we are. Terrorists have the luxury of striking at a time and
place of their choosing, while we must defend all possible targets at all
times.
The next attack could easily disable large sections of the electric power
grid,
resulting in extended blackouts and a breakdown in social order.

Today’s neophyte gun buyers are probably less concerned with fighting
terrorists
than with a scenario similar to the last round of riots in Los Angeles
during
which police abandoned large areas of the city. In the resulting rush to
local
gun stores, many were dismayed at the long waiting period required before
they
could take delivery of a firearm that would allow them to protect their
families.

The anti-gun lobby would like us to believe that new gun buyers are acting
out
of blind fear, but most are undergoing a sober and thoughtful re-evaluation
that
began prior to the attacks. Before 9-11, many people were still in denial
about
their own vulnerability to danger. It was easy to believe that we could
always
dial 911 and instantly summon armed officers to our rescue.

The lesson that many Americans have taken from this experience is that we
should
each take more responsibility for our own safety. Seeing so many innocent
lives
snuffed out without warning has injected a harsh dose of reality and
relieved us
of some of our idealistic innocence.

Dr. Michael S. Brown is a member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws,
www.dsgl.org.
He may be reached at rkba2000@y…

References:

Michael Moore quote – http://michaelmoore.com/2001_0922.html