Interesting article. I don't think the linguistic argument used in the OPED is going to sway anyone to support gun control.
I think a lot of the efforts to implement gun control ignore the nature of the US. The country is large and in some areas people can not rely on quick police response or if the police can respond quickly, they can't be trusted to act in good faith.
We certainly need some gun control to prevent those who are mentally ill or previously convicted of violent crimes from owning guns. Even processes for these, if put in place, must be appealable to ensure universal fair treatment. Additionally mandatory wait times would be great as well.
I think bans of X gun because it's scary are non sensical because those bans are not going to win over any gun rights advocates to create a national consensus.
The large majority of gun owners never commit a violent crime and should not be told to give them up because of the actions of a few.
For the first 13 years of my life I lived on a rural dirt road surrounded by hundreds of acres of forest. I can think of exactly zero times in those years where we needed a gun.
Well that is just one individual out of millions. Just because you don't see a need doesn't mean others don't. Plus us as individuals can't determine what other large groups can and cannot have. We don't have the same life experiences.
Someone may be the victim of a sexual assault and when living in a rural area having something to defend themselves gives them some peace of mind.
Imagine living in a small neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and you don't get along with a corrupt police force. When you are in danger from someone during a home invasion or if you are hiking in the wilderness, you may not trust the cops to act in your best interest
Plus us as individuals can’t determine what other large groups can and cannot have. We don’t have the same life experiences.
Us as a collective do so all the time. It is a totally normal activity in a society. Nations other than the USA have successfully done this with guns. There is no reason the USA could not do the same except will power.
The rest of your paranoid what-if scenarios are not a valid reason for everyone to have access to unlimited firepower.
Well we are also not other countries. We have different culture, socio economic makeup, different population distribution, and different history. Something that works in another country isn't guaranteed to work here.
I think a key reason why nothing will ever change is because moderates offer "hey we can do mental health checks, bans on ownership for people convicted of violent crimes, and mandatory wait times" to meet in the middle and compromise but both sides don't want to do that.
Just a symptom of how polarized the nation is. Until we fix that, nothing will ever change.
I don't think there's really any winning over those who are pro-gun honestly. Anyone capable of having an honest discussion about firearms access has kind of already agreed that things need serious reform, and those who see guns as an extension of their identity will never concede even the smallest point regardless of how nuanced an argument one makes.
Consider; we've had multiple mass shootings of kindergartens in this country and all its done is make gun advocate types dig in their heels more. Instead of reconsidering their position they instead harass the parents of the victims. There's no changing those kinds of people, you have to work around them.