GUN COUNTRY

by David Wilson

No gun in the United States creates more controversy than an assault weapon—a military-style rifle, pistol, or shotgun available to the public. Yet, no consistent definition of an assault weapon exists, while attempts to outlaw or restrict these guns have created tremendous controversy over the rights of Americans to defend themselves and the question of how far the Second Amendment’s freedoms extend. How are assault weapons used by everyday Americans? Millions exist in private ownership, yet they are most commonly held among several categories: police, criminals, and, most notoriously, mass shooters, who rely on assault weapons for overwhelming power against targets. While these weapons are less deadly overall than other guns, their ability to deal tremendous damage makes them a lightning rod for argument, analysis, and restrictions in the modern gun debate.

by David Wilson

No nation on earth has a gun culture that quite compares to that of the United States. The U.S. accounts for about 5 percent of the world’s population, yet it possesses nearly 50 percent of all guns on the planet. There are, in fact, more guns in the United States today than there are people, although only about one in three Americans reports owning a gun. Not only do Americans have far and away the most guns, they also have far and away the most gun crime and the most deaths by gun homicide or suicide.The Second Amendment promises freedom to own firearms, but this freedom is not absolute and has been subject to political negotiation for centuries. Today, a variety of lawmakers and politicians seek to expand or curtail the freedoms of the Second Amendment, aided or hampered by the influence of very powerful lobbies and interest groups. What’s more, the United States has exported some of its gun culture abroad, and many nations across the world have been affected by the American right to bear arms.

by David Wilson

Each day, millions of Americans use their guns for recreation and sport. While gun sports are not always as publicized as the illegal use of guns, they nevertheless contribute to American gun culture, honing marksmanship, developing teamwork and discipline, and contributing to the world of nature conservation. Millions of Americans hunt, target shoot, or participate in shooting sports, with a strong track record of safety and even inclusion, and millions more Americans state that they may one day buy a gun to do so. The sports made possible by guns provide millions of Americans with an active, vibrant hobby. They contribute billions of dollars to the economy, leading to considerable funds for the maintenance of public parks and other natural places. They provide hundreds of thousands of Americans with jobs. While some gun sports like hunting are in decline, others, like high-school shooting competition, are growing in popularity. These sports continue to intertwine firearms with everyday American life.

by David Wilson

A huge amount of the gun violence experienced every day in the United States is actually handgun violence. Remove handguns from the picture, and the national murder rate is very similar to that of Canada’s. Yet, handguns are extremely prolific throughout the United States, accounting for over half of all guns in total, and are synonymous with personal protection against criminals. Handguns are used and misused every day, and more often than not they make the headlines because of their deadly power. While handgun homicides are a key issue in American society, they are far from the only issue. More Americans commit suicide using a gun than with any other type of weapon, and states with the least-strict handgun laws have the highest gun-suicide rates. The same is true for accidental shootings, which claim hundreds of lives annually. Handguns have drastically and permanently changed the course of the American debate on firearms, necessitating new legislation for their use and misuse.

by David Wilson

The manufacturers, retailers, and vendors of guns do a brisk business each day in the United States. The millions of guns bought and sold add up to billions of dollars of revenue and thousands of jobs, boosting city, state, and national economies. Major manufacturers can churn out millions of guns in a single year, while tens of thousands of individual retailers make gun ownership available throughout the nation. On the surface, purchasing a firearm from a gun store in the United States requires passing a series of legal hurdles, including a background check. However, gun stores are far from the only venue in the country to purchase a gun. Gun shows and Internet sales make it possible to connect buyers and sellers with as little oversight as the sale of a television, reducing or even eliminating the security checks on the exchange of deadly weapons.

by David Wilson

For as long as Americans have owned guns, they have passed laws restricting ownership of them. From firearm restrictions that predate the Second Amendment by a century to the most recent bans on assault weapons and bump stocks, gun law has seen many changes to the freedoms that many Americans believe to be inalienable. Indeed, even the Second Amendment itself has changed, from a common right to an individual right. Many different organizations shape the gun laws that today make it both possible and impossible to own firearms, including the U.S. Supreme Court and lobbying organizations like the National Rifle Association. Political and cultural viewpoints have shifted over time, furthermore, and groups that advocate for gun freedoms today have not always done so throughout history. The current gun debates have many similarities to historical debates over freedom, crime, and what it means to be an American citizen, with no consensus despite countless politicians working to see their visions for American gun law realized.