Is American Gun Culture Here to Stay?

Abolishing the gun industry is not practical, but a compromise on the types of guns available for consumer purchase, and their accessibility, is necessary to save lives.

Children at a gun show. From GQ Magazine

By Hannah Male

There are enough guns in the US such that every American could own two. As guns are children’s number one cause of death in the US, as well as the number one cause of child trauma injury, this cannot be ignored.

Gun culture in the US is a strong part of the American identity, enshrined by the 1791 second amendment and entrenched in family traditions and sporting events. As a Canadian raised by a pacifist, the realm of guns always seemed quite black and white: Guns are bad, they cause unnecessary violence, and they should be reserved for those who are in the police and military. My perspective shifted when I engaged in dialogue with Americans on guns and the unique role they play in American culture.

In parts of America, family traditions are indistinguishable from gun culture. In some states when hunting season begins, schools close anywhere from one day to two weeks. Fathers pass down hunting traditions to their sons, and food is prepared from the catch of the day. In many communites, sheriffs recommended that those experiencing threats of violence ought to buy a firearm and learn how to use it.

When evaluating American gun culture, hunting and self-defence are recurring themes. But these themes have the tendency to obfuscate the broader societal issues of misogyny and the preservation of the patriarchy. While mass shootings make up less than 2% of all gun violence incidents, perpetrators of these events often have prior incidences of gun violence in intimate partner violence or family homicides. These are the unspoken themes of American gun culture that are forgotten by politicians and the gun lobby.

The United States finds itself in a paradox: citizens’ trust in democratic institutions is at an all-time low, yet successful fear mongering by those in positions of power has become a favourable tactic. Republicans stoke fear in Americans by saying the Democrats are trying to take the American people’s guns by some sort of forced round up. The decline in trust in democratic institutions over the past decade has been correlated with more firearm purchases. Since Obama was elected in 2008, there has been a consistent annual increase in gun purchases and since 2013 annual gun sales have more than doubled. This leaves victims of gun violence thrown to one side while lobbying groups and powerful corporations are profiting in the millions.

Associations like the National Rifle Association (NRA) and gun manufacturers that cannot be held liable for any harm caused by their products have more power and sway in the federal and state legislature than the millions of American voters affected by gun violence made possible by these groups. It is a wicked problem that will take a long time to understand completely, let alone solve.

The AR-15 is the weapon of choice for mass shooters in the US, and as Congresswoman Annie Kuster, Democratic of New Hampshire explained, it is a weapon of war that if used for hunting would desecrate the deer so badly it would not be salvageable. This begs the question: how do weapons of war fit into the American gun culture and is there a place for them at all? They are not an appropriate choice for hunting nor for self-defence.

If an AR-15 is shot inside your house, the sound alone would cause significant hearing damage and even deafness. The lack of common sense concerning public access to semi and fully automated weapons – weapons originally manufactured to kill in the context of war – prompts the question: who is protecting who and why? It is clear that America is not protecting its citizens.

Despite this, America loves its guns, and it is not necessary to remove this element from the lives of many proud Americans. Gun ownership creates a sense of community, strengthens family traditions, and provides a feeling of security to those that may otherwise live in fear. Abolishing the gun industry is not practical, but a compromise on the types of guns available for consumer purchase, and their accessibility is necessary to save lives.

To gain the traction necessary to enact true policy change, common ground must be found. The trauma and impact of gun violence on Americans can be shared by person-to-person dialogue with the intention of restoring the empathy that wealthy elites, who are profiting on Americans’ suffering, find easy to ignore. Without it, the elements of gun culture that Americans are so proud of will be buried underneath the bodies of all those killed by firearms in the United States of America.

Hannah Male is originally from Vancouver, Canada where she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from Simon Fraser University. Following her degree, Hannah gained professional experience across several Government of Canada departments. Most recently, Hannah worked as an International Development Officer on the Haiti Bilateral Program at Global Affairs Canada, advancing security, stability, democracy, and sustainable development in Haiti, in partnership with international institutions, such as the United Nations. Hannah is keen to learn about evidence-based solutions for macro issues, as well as diving deeper into how domestic priorities impact the international landscape.