15 Second Briefing:
Violent crime in America is a complex problem that deserves more attention from our political and community leaders. Many of the solutions that have been proposed take a singular approach to a problem that’s multi-faceted.
Oversimplifying Violent Crime in America
In the United States, we are surrounded by an unending cycle of heartbreak, death, and destruction brought on by the violent acts of criminals. Robberies, domestic abuse, gang violence, and mass shootings are present in every community all over the country. Americans are ready for this cycle of heart-wrenching tragedies to end. We want our children can go to attend safe schools and grow into future citizens of our world without having to live in fear.
Out of the heartbreak, fear, and uncertainty that comes in the wake of horrific events, we begin looking for answers and solutions. We want to put an end to violence and death. We owe it to our loved ones and our children to look within ourselves and at our society to determine how we can stop this culture of violence.
Anyone who claims to have a quick fix for these tragedies is lying to themselves and to the people around them. They’re offering fool’s gold to those affected by these tragedies.
Violent crime in America is a complex problem that deserves more attention from our political and community leaders. Many of the solutions that have been proposed take a singular approach to a problem that’s multi-faceted.
In order to truly improve safety in our schools and in our communities, we need to put political ideologies aside and take a comprehensive approach to identify and attack the root causes of violent crime. Then we need to commit to fighting for common-sense solutions that produce positive results in our communities.
Gun Control Is Not a Solution
Many Americans claim to have the solution to violent crime. They want to see guns taken away. Whether it’s through state or federal legislation or through abolishing the Second Amendment, many Americans believe that taking guns away will get rid of violent crime. More and more Americans fall under the spell of this misinformation campaign every day.
We all wish that getting rid of evil were as simple as passing one constitutional amendment. Unfortunately, the reality is that our government does not have the power to legislate morality. Legislation and prohibition do not have the power to change the hearts of people. Just take a look at the results of alcohol prohibition in the 1940s. More recently, in areas where marijuana is still illegal, how well do our fellow citizens abstain from using it?
These examples pale in comparison to the dire issue of violent crime in our country, but they are examples of how simple legislation has failed to change the beliefs and behaviors of people. In the same way, gun control legislation fails to instill compassion and integrity in the hearts of people.
The inconvenient truth is that gun control endangers our children
Restrictions and regulations placed on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens, increase the freedom of criminals to use firearms for evil purposes. When looking to reduce acts of violence, two theories have proven successful, defense and deterrence.
The act of defense ensures that potential victims are as armed and prepared equal to potential assailants. The act of deterrence is the presence of a punishment that is great enough to deter a potential assailant from committing an act of violence.
In a study published by researchers from Georiga State University, after looking at the effects of gun control laws and gun ownership on rates of violent crime, they concluded that higher gun ownership rates do not cause more crime.
“To summarize, we have strong evidence that higher gun levels do not cause more crime.”
Their study also found that most gun control measures have no significant negative effect on violence.
“The estimates displayed in table 2 also indicate that most gun control measures appear to have no significant negative direct effect on total (gun plus non-gun) violence rates – total homicide, total robbery, and total aggravated assault.”
However, there was one gun regulation that showed a significant reduction in homicide rates. Their study found that state laws forbidding the sale of guns to alcoholics or persons under the influence reduced the overall rate of homicide.
Perhaps most alarming from this study, was their finding that laws restricting the concealed carry of guns actually increased violent crime due to the reduced ability of potential victims to carry a weapon for protection. Reducing the amount of armed potential victims makes violent crime less risky for criminals.
“Among the more intriguing apparent counterproductive effects was that of laws restricting the concealed carrying of guns on homicide. To the extent that these laws reduce gun carrying by prospective victims more than by offenders, the laws could increase violent crime by reducing any deterrent effects generated by victim gun carrying.”
When responsible gun ownership is stigmatized and prohibited, criminals face less risk when they decide to commit acts of violence.
What Can We Do?
The first thing we need to do is to make sure our friends and family know that we love them.
The next thing we need to do is take a look at our sphere of influence. Decide if we see anything or anyone that could be a threat to ourselves or others. Ask yourself if you know what your kids are doing. Make sure you know how they’re feeling, who they’re hanging out with, what they’re searching on the internet, and what they have access to.
Consistently with each mass shooting, there are signs that may have alerted to what the shooter was planning. The 18-year-old shooter in the Uvalde, Texas tragedy wrote in private messages on Facebook “I’m going to shoot my grandmother” and “I’m going to shoot an elementary school” shortly before his attack.
The shooter who acted in the Tops Market shooting in Buffalo, NY said that he wanted to commit a murder-suicide while he was a senior in high school (before saying he was only joking).
As a nation, we need to commit to diligently following up and reaching out to the proper resources. If we see signs that somebody is struggling or that they may decide to hurt themselves or others, we need to get them the help that they need.
We need to ensure that our local authorities have the resources necessary to enforce the laws that already exist as well as invest in new initiatives to improve public safety.
Sufficient punishment for violent criminals, more robust re-entry programs for former convicts, and increased security at schools and other vulnerable locations are some of the initiatives that need more attention and investment.
Don’t let the gun control narrative mislead you. Safety in our communities and the protection of our children are much too important to settle for the easy, simplistic, unconstitutional non-solution of more gun control that will only endanger our children.
Let’s invest in real, comprehensive, difference-making solutions to the complex issue of gun violence in our nation.
Big Daddy Unlimited advocates strongly for Second Amendment rights because we believe that the right to keep and bear arms exists to protect all of the other God-given rights of American citizens. Become a member today to join our community of freedom-loving Americans, and let’s work together to support and defend our Second Amendment rights.
