Pubdate: Wed, 11 Aug 2010 Source: Edmonton Sun (CN AB) Copyright: 2010 Canoe Limited Partnership. Contact: http://www.edmontonsun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/135 GUNS AREN'T THE ROOT PROBLEM As RCMP proudly displayed a cache of serious weapons Tuesday from a drug raid, the presence of a 7.62-calibre Israeli machine-gun, with full tripod, had more than a few area residents nervous. It's a natural response, when one stops to consider what it signifies: that those involved in the drug businesss are in a dangerous trade, one with potential crossfire consequences for the rest of the public. But it's also a chance to consider why we feel guns pose a threat to the rest of us. And the reality is, most of the time they don't. Guns are a tool, for killing or for target competition. To stop a tool from being used inappropriately, you have to address the reasons someone thinks they need it. The U.S. has more gun deaths per capita than any other developed nation. But in point of fact, the vast majority are either from crimes where two parties are familiar with one another or from suicides. The rates of accidental shootings in the U.S. and of non-familiar homicides are both relatively low. In the case of crime, it's nearly always to protect drug dealers and gang members who flourish from the value of illegal drugs, a value created by the prohibition against them. Most of the time, those dealers are involved in the marijuana trade. If you want to get rid of that profit incentive, get rid of the black market that drives the value of pot from that of a simple weed to that of the most lucrative cash crop on the planet. Control it, tax it, license its sale and distribution. It worked for liquor: the end of the U.S. Prohibition dramatically lowered gang violence and the spinoff casualties among the public, all without banning guns. In the case of suicides? The overall rate in the U.S. doesn't usually dwarf that of similar developed nations, so it stands to reason that removing the tool, in that case, probably won't stop people suffering mental illness from killing themselves, there or here. It's easy to demonize guns: our federal governments, through the continuing sham of the firearms registry, have made a habit of doing just that. But unless we address the reasons people use them aggressively - root causes of crime based in poverty, sociopathy and, often, regulatory opportunity - we won't stop guns from being misused. And all the legal paper in the world won't get rid of a tool when it makes its owner lots of money. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt