Alex, I don't think there is a concept of personal freedom which actually involves carrying guns everywhere. Certainly, there are free, western societies where this is not the case, or handgun controls have been legislated over time, and no other freedoms are eroding. This argument reminds me a little of the domino theory.
I am going to url a column by Joan Ryan, from the SF Chronicle, over at Feelings sometime later, because I really like it, but I will just quote from it briefly here to show you that, by any rational standards, America IS turning into a shooting gallery!
"According to a 1996 Police Foundation poll, Americans privately own between 190 million and 220 million firearms. So it's not surprising that, according to another study, the overall firearms death rate among children 14 and younger is 12 times higher in the United States than in 25 other industrialized nations combined. In real numbers, 14 children in America are killed with guns every day, and four times as many are treated for gunshot wounds. About 400 children die every year in unintentional shootings."
To me, this in itself is an argument in favor of my remark that America is falling apart. I am not sure how we can debate such an elusive, broad, comment, however. Ideas? |
