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The Efficacy of Gun Control, by B.W.
Plato purportedly said, “Only the dead have seen the end of war,” and in many ways he was correct. Violence has been a constant throughout recorded history, and it continues to plague humanity. In fact, perhaps the only significant change is our growing expertise and efficiency. The invention of the firearm in 13th century China marked a turning point in state-sponsored warfare and interpersonal violence. Black powder in conjunction with a simple machine and projectile enabled the relatively unskilled and weaker combatant to create parity with a group who possessed superior strength. For better or worse, politics had irrevocably changed. As a direct result, the following questions immediately emerged: Who should possess these weapons? Should they be exclusive to state actors? Should they be available to the general public? As emotionally charged as these questions have become, and as much as we want there to be simple solution to violence, gun control is politically dangerous, it does not directly prevent violence, and history has shown it to be a dangerous tool in the oppression of minority ethnic, religious, and political groups.
In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote his seminal work The Prince, which detailed his observations and reflections on politics and government. He made the following statement regarding the citizenry and arms: “But when you disarm them, you begin to offend them, and you show that you distrust them either because of cowardice or lack of loyalty, and both of these judgements generate hatred against you.”[1] Nothing if not pragmatic, Machiavelli argues that if a ruling party desires to regulate (or prohibit) private firearm ownership, they take a huge political risk. For by attempting to disarm the populace, the ruling party can potentially cause the political unrest they were attempting to prevent.
Further complicating the political viability of gun control, the anger and hostility generated by these efforts can become multi-generational. In his 1927 autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi recounted several decades of British oppression. He reserved some of his most pointed comments for British efforts at firearm regulations, specifically the Indian Arms Act of 1878.
“Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look back upon the Act depriving the whole nation of arms as the blackest. If we want the Arms Act to be repealed, if we want to learn the use of arms, here is a golden opportunity. If the middle classes render voluntary help to Government in the hour of its trial, distrust will disappear, and the ban on possessing arms will be withdrawn.”[2]
This reasoning may seem archaic in our postmodern society, but what would be the outcome of a Presidential Executive Order outlawing private gun ownership in this country? Would the situation be any less politically and socially precarious than it was in the time of Machiavelli? Arguably, any such action would produce the largest political crisis since World War II.
It can be argued that political expediency is irrelevant because gun control is necessary to prevent interpersonal violence.
Source: https://survivalblog.com/the-efficacy-of-gun-control-by-b-w/
