Issue 246 Guns save lives January 9, 2014

Yes, guns can and do save lives here in the United States. But there is a reason that this is true for the United States.

How they save lives: There are two key examples of guns saving lives that are important to know about. The first happened back I believe around 2003 (not sure the exact year). A vice principle had his hand gun hidden in his car on the school premises. On that day a student came to school and began firing upon his fellow students out of revenge for bulling (if I remember correctly). This caused the vice principle to run to his car and retrieve his gun. He was the first armed individual to approach the shooter and held the culprit at gun point long enough for the police to arrive. Now it is unknown how many lives where saved because of his actions, but it shows guns save lives.

Another incident at a different school happened just this year and is very similar to the first. The shooter came to school with a shot gun and began shooting students (two were injured with one still considered critical). A security staff member who was armed confronted the shooter with his own firearm (a hand gun). With the shooter trapped, the shooter turned his shotgun on himself. Again lives were saved thanks to a gun. There are many more incidents similar to these that demonstrate that guns save lives.

Why do they save lives?: Like the incidents described above, guns can offer a threat to those who take advantage of a guns level of power. So the simple thought by a criminal that his targeted victim may in fact be armed and much more dangerous tends to make them shy away from their original intended target. Basically it is the psychology of the hunter versus the hunted at work. A predator (the criminal) goes after the weakest individual so as to increase the chances of success. No criminal goes after the strongest most fortified of individuals to rob unless they are capable of making those strengths redundant. A gun insures that a criminal will think twice, and maybe abandon their target. We cannot even begin to know how many lives have been potentially saved thanks to the increasing level of gun ownership in the United States. Currently the U.S. has enough guns so that each individual can have at least one sure is impressive. Not to mention with this increased gun ownership the level of violent crime has shrunk at almost equal measure. If this is directly related or the result of gun ownership in combination with better policing still places the numbers in favor of allowing more gun ownership.

Conclusion: Guns don't kill people, the people using them do. Criminals are predators seeking easy prey, but guns equalize the situation making the prey not worth the effort. As such, guns deter and reduce crime as gun ownership and the fear of reprisal grows. Many people are in areas where it takes at least 15 minutes to an hour for police to arrive. In these communities guns are needed in the home more than they need a law officer due to the length of time it takes for the police to arrive. The gun puts the literal fear of God into criminals and can stop an incident before it starts. This is part of the American gun culture and thus why in America, guns save lives.