Guns and governance

By Deauwand Myers

Recently, gun murders in Korea have rocked the nation. Loss of human life should always be mourned, and certainly, murders are newsworthy, yet the amount of attention the few incidents garnered in the national media was surprising at first, at least to this American. But that surprise quickly dissipated when I remembered a few social statistics.

Like in all wealthy democracies ― except one ― death by gun violence is exceedingly rare in Korea. Also, like most wealthy democracies, access to firearms is strictly regulated here, as in much of Asia.

In Japan, for example, the layers of bureaucracy in getting a hunting license, then a gun license, are so complex and time-consuming, gun ownership in the country is very low. These regulations were meant to make it so.

Australia used to have laxer gun regulation until the Port Arthur Massacre in April 1996. The gunman in said massacre killed 35 people and injured 23 others. This horrific incident galvanized the nation. Afterwards, the Australian government passed sweeping gun laws effectively ending mass gun ownership in the country. Noteworthy, too, was how many Australian gun owners turned in their firearms in a show of solidarity with the government's new gun laws.

In Britain, regular policemen don't even carry firearms. The rate of gun violence and police brutality, particularly where deadly force is used, is very low in the UK.

Unfortunately, the United States is the exception to many social trends present in other wealthy democracies: lack of universal healthcare, paid maternity and paternity leave, lower or free tuition for tertiary education, and a staggeringly high rate of mass incarceration (America jails more people in actual numbers than any other country on earth, including Iran, China, and North Korea combined).

America is also unique in the prevalence of gun violence.

The level of mass murder by firearms in the United States is, by far, the highest in the world. Annually, less than 50 gun homicides occur in Japan and in countries like Germany, France and Italy, less than 150. Even in relatively gun-control lax Canada, total gun deaths are less than 200. In America, well over 10,000 gun homicides occur every year. Overall firearm deaths claim over 30,000 lives per annum.

Even while violent crime has steadily and dramatically decreased in America over the past generation, incidences of death by gunfire have actually increased. By the FBI's own count, mass murder by gunfire (defined as four or more deaths in a single instance) has occurred over 200 times in the last two years alone. How many lives is that? Over 3,500 people, more than the lives lost on September 11, 2001. How much money have we spent on counterterrorism since then? Trillions of dollars: exact figures will never be known because counterterrorism budgets are often redacted or classified. How much money have we spent on decreasing gun violence? Less than 0.001 percent of the counterterrorism budget.

The gun lobby in America has been effective in stopping even the most pedestrian of gun control measures. Universal background checks, gathering statistics on gun violence, even creating commissions to study the phenomenon of mass murder by gunfire ― all have been thwarted.

A small but vocal, vehement corner of so-called Second Amendment advocates (some would call them zealots) argue that any gun regulation curtailing access to firearms is tantamount to violating the American Constitution. Militia groups, ultra-right-wing anarchists, anti-government conspiracy theorists and the like, argue the government could take away guns at any time, leading to tyranny. Of course, there's no empirical or historical evidence to substantiate said claims.

The right to bear arms is important, some argue, to add a check to the government's power, and for personal protection. First, in a highly improbable future where the US government declares martial law and suspends all freedoms, the arsenal at the government's disposal, e.g. missiles, nuclear weapons and air power, would trump the rifles and handguns of the citizenry. The population loses against the government, and badly, in this scenario.

Personal protection of life and property is much more salient and valid an argument. Yet, statistically, death or grave bodily harm markedly increases in the homes of those with firearms. Further, why would one need gun cartridges with 30 rounds of bullets or semi-automatic, military-grade weapons for self defense? Where are these roaming, raging hordes of gangs washing over the city and the countryside where such firepower is necessary?

Korea, Japan and many wealthy, democratic countries with actual histories of autocratic regimes or battling hostile, undemocratic nations have built flourishing democracies without most members of their societies armed to the teeth.

As with much, the issue of guns is complex, nuanced and deserves a balanced conversation about how to protect gun rights while allowing for better safety in the broader society.

Deauwand Myers holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside Seoul. He can be reached at deauwand@hotmail.com.