This post isn't exactly meant to get political, and I don't mean it to offend. It's just meant to be an observation of a cultural difference between Spain and the United States. Since returning to the States, I have been increasingly bothered by the things I have been seeing on the news. I will never claim to be an expert on guns or gun control. I know this is a super heated discussion here in the States, but I feel like I need to share my thoughts on the issue, based solely on my own experiences. This is in no way comprehensive of the whole debate. You are free to agree or disagree with me about anything I write. Feel free to comment or email me, or don't; you can ignore me just as easily. I don't really expect to change anybody's mind about the matter, I'm just throwing my own ideas out there. That being said, let's begin.
Throughout my travels in Europe, one question that I was repeatedly asked by strangers was, "You're American?? So... do you own a gun?!" Is it sad that the overwhelming stereotype of Americans is that we are all gun-toting crazies, who barbecue for every meal and work all the time? I kind of think so. I mean, the barbecuing and working parts aren't horrible, but the gun thing gives us a bad image, I think. (And, in fact, upon looking up the numbers, I see that, "The rate of private gun ownership in the United States is 88.8 firearms per 100 people" (http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states)). Sick. The only thing worse than the stereotype is how close it is to being truth.
The common argument that we hear here in the States is that "if you outlaw guns, the only people that will have them are the criminals!" But what's the difference? All of the criminals have them now, so can it really get any worse? In Spain, where guns and other weapons are generally illegal to own, I can hardly remember a time where I felt unsafe walking alone, even in the middle of the night. There really isn't much to fear if nobody has them. But here in my own neighborhood, (which isn't even a bad neighborhood by most peoples' standards)? You won't catch me walking anywhere after dark. The problem here is that anybody could have a gun. And you don't have to look very hard to find a story about somebody getting shot over something ridiculous. Just turn on the news.
Every day my mom watches the local news, and every day there are about three stories of local people being shot. EVERY DAY. People outside of bars, people at home, people in stores, people in cars. Why is that acceptable? Not to mention the mass shootings that have become ever so frequent in the last several years, and even over the last several weeks. This sort of thing just doesn't happen in other civilized countries. Our lax gun laws are like none other. And maybe there's good reason for that.
Say what you will about our second amendment rights. That's all fine and well. But perhaps we can follow the example of the rest of the world on this one. From what I know about Spanish gun laws (and please, correct me if I'm wrong), you can still own a shotgun or rifle for hunting, but you must provide a reason for having it. Police and military officials are generally the only ones allowed to own handguns. Everyone that owns a gun must undergo psychological, criminal, and domestic violence evaluations and take a training course, and they have to register their weapon. And I believe that there is also a limit to the number of guns that you can own. Want to know how many people die each year from gun violence in Spain? In the year 2008, there were 80 deaths due to gun homicide (http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/spain). Compare that to the 9,484 that occurred in the US that same year (http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states). Granted, Spain is much smaller in size and population than the United States, but per 100,000 people, that is .18 deaths in Spain, and 3.12 deaths in the US. That is less than 6% of the number of gun deaths that we see in the States! Though, in my opinion, it is far too many in either case.
Honestly, it is so disheartening to watch the news here. What value do we place on human life anymore? And it is so unfortunate that we should have to worry about walking around our own neighborhoods and cities. We can't even go to a public event without being frisked at the door. Welcome to the Land of Liberty, where our freedom to own a gun is more important than our right to walk our own streets without fear.
If you ask me, I'd rather live without that fear.
And yeah, yeah, I know that the gun issue is so entrenched in our American culture and it's not likely to change anytime soon. But I just want to point out that it is possible to have a society where guns aren't necessary, and where they aren't even close to being the norm.
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