[Dialogue] Guns

[jlepps at pc.jaring.my]

Thanks, Lee, for starting this conversation, and for all the 
contributions. Here's my two cents:

I. CONTEXT
I grew up in a home where guns were part of the normal possessions. 
I've owned a BB, a 22, a 410, and a couple of 12-gage shotguns 
(though I never was a hunter). Dad, my brother and I all participated 
in skeet shooting as a hobby, and spent many hours loading shotgun 
shells for re-use at the range. There was plenty of safety training, 
both at home and through Boy Scouts. Then in my brief stint with the 
Army, I earned a sharpshooter medal on the rifle range and learned a 
lot about the M-1 (major learning: don't point it at anything you 
don't intend to kill).

For the past 20+ years I have lived in Malaysia where it is a capital 
offense to own a gun or a bullet, and people have been sent to the 
gallows for the possession of a single bullet. Occasionally criminals 
have been found to possess guns -- usually after they've been shot 
dead by the police. Criminals still function, but usually with machetes.

So my personal relation to the issue has some ambiguity.

One other bit of context: We DID succeed with the smoking issue, and 
that was QUITE a cultural transformation. It's not impossible.

II. IDEAS
In addition to the analysis recommended by Randy & Jack, it seems to 
me some strategic thinking is in order, and a very appropriate way to 
begin is with the Chinese strategem, "Lure the Tiger out of the 
mountains." The insight is, if you go tiger hunting, don't do it on 
the tiger's home turf. That's a strategy for getting eaten! You lure 
the tiger onto your home turf. Put another way, make it an advantage 
for the enemy to agree with you.

Of course identifying the tiger in this situation is complex. Is it 
the NRA or gun-owners or the firearms industry? Probably all of the above.

So in this case the "tiger bait" might be inviting a debate around 
the theme of protecting your home & family. One of the arguments from 
proponents of guns is to provide protection against burglars & other 
intruders. The rational "hook" in the bait would be to compare 
statistics of those who've wounded or killed burglars vs those who've 
been accidentally killed or otherwise murdered with abundant guns. 
I'm guessing that the statistics would be around 1,000 to 1. But 
rationality never convinces anyone, though it can disclose the 
fallacy of an argument.

To this, we might add the proposition that all newly built homes are 
required to have a burglar alarm system installed and connected to 
the police station. Existing homes could be retro-fitted (with a tax 
incentive.- similar to the solar energy incentive, this one 
creatively named "Home Protection System." Think of the jobs!)

Another part of the strategy is to make it disadvantageous to oppose 
gun control. That's what happened when schoolchildren began hassling 
parents who were smokers. What if school curricula had a module that 
pointed out the crudity and danger of guns? Then kids might, instead 
of  playing gun-games, become advocates of no-gun games. (In addition 
to my previously-mentioned firearm collection, I also had a couple of 
fine cap pistols!)

In terms of regulation, perhaps there might be licenses for hunting 
(already, but add a license for the gun(s) used); license for skeet 
shooting, and a license for home protection. The latter would be 
issued with the purchase of the gun, and a locked container to secure 
it with a complicated combination.  Of course there needs to be a ban 
on civilian ownership of assault weapons and multi-shot magazines. 
These regulations simply make it more inconvenient for gun users to operate.

In addition to licenses, it might be interesting to require 
purchasers of guns to be enrolled in a "citizen's militia" (the 
Constitution says that is the basis for the right to bear arms) run 
by the NRA & local police and conducting required training in safety 
in use of firearms. The unit might even develop drill teams and 
perform at sports events! Take a look at this as what a good drill 
team can look like: 
http://sorisomail.com/email/16993/exibicao-de-banda-militar--um-espectaculo-imperdivel.html

Maybe that would make it easier for the "tigers" to agree. Still it 
will take some doing -- maybe even some pilot projects (God forbid!).

Anyway brainstorms are meant to generate ideas.

Of course the cries for increased mental health need to be 
implemented. Those strategies are long range and necessary.

John

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