A radical case against the ineffectiveness of gun control legislation to stop gun violence
Okay, this is gonna be a controversial one, but I think it needs to be said. We need a leftist argument against gun control legislation as a cure all for the terrible and awful shootings that keep happening in America. We need this argument period, but especially against the onslaught of reactionary and wrong right wing arguments against gun control as well that are stealing thunder on an important issue. Radicals must differentiate ourselves from Liberals with a surficial analysis of the problem and really look at the system issues behind this epidemic and see what can help solve it. Gun control is not only a wedge issue, a class issue and also creates divides along geography, race, etc., it is also just an ineffective strategy to combat these very real and dangerous problems.
Where is the Right right, and where are they wrong?
Dear Right Wingers (who will never read this, probably), No, arming every man, woman and child in society will not solve our gun violence problems. In fact, it may cause more. Look, I’m not against rational people owning guns, and I think part of the divide and difficulty in finding common ground solutions is that Liberals are often against this or come off as being so. I don’t own a gun and have never felt the need to, but I do agree that I should have a right to do so. I don’t trust a society where only cops and criminals are armed. We’ve seen the willingness of cops to murder unarmed civilians as of late, and in a society where guns are illegal, it is the criminals that still know how to get them and will always be armed. So, where does that leave us? Also, it is not helpful to vow allegiance to a conservative front group, namely the NRA, who pander for the gun manufacturing industry to take the heat away from them when these awful incidents occur. Gun manufactures are capitalist enterprises and obviously want more and more guns to be sold, and are playing you like a fiddle, they also don’t care about solving the problems of gun violence. In fact, historically when it comes to militant Black folks, they even seem uncertain about the right to own a gun at all….
Why does gun control not work?
Ask yourself, did the prohibition of alcohol work? Does drug prohibition currently work? What about criminalizing sex work? Why would gun control work and has it worked over the last 40 some odd years? No, gun violence has gotten worse and worse. Look at San Bernardino, sight of the last shooting rampage. California has some of the toughest gun control laws on the books and what good did it do? Why are there plenty of states with little to no gun control laws that have way less gun violence, like Kentucky? What about the rate of income inequality differentials in those states? Makes you go “hurm”…
What are the real issues at play and what has contributed to making gun violence such a systemic problem in the U.S.?
We live in a country built on violence, genocide of Native Americans, colonist conquests and imperial wars over oil. We need to recognize that and recognize how we reward violence as a society and violent people and how we grow up to internalize that ethos, if we want to stop it. I’m not some Tipper Gore, blaming rap music and television shows for our problems, if anything media just reflects the reality on the ground. Systemically, America has used violence and militarism to succeed and worships this “survival of the fittest” crap, which is all just jock classism. So, we must look at long term systemic solutions, as well as more short term measures.
Until we get rid of capitalism and income inequality, and until we as a society stop worshiping those with pathology, regardless of the legality of guns, we will have violence. Thomas Piketty, the academic who recently published a best seller on income inequality, even wrote that the rise of ISIS in the Middle East was potentially (duh) linked to income inequality in the region and U.S. military intervention (massive gun violence).
Another thought provoking intellectual, Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi, also had some interesting things to say about these links, which I highly recommend you read here.
What could work instead?
Yes, I totally support background checks and mental health screenings. It is the modern neo liberal regime that has torn down our public mental health system. We need to start by rebuilding that, and forcing our government to direct real resources towards this. We need to pass background check legislation now. (And yes, I share concerns about a publicly available database, I don’t trust our government, sorry) God, I can’t believe I actually share an opinion with Senator Joe Manchin, but apparently I do. WV folks, let him know that you do as well. We need to start really attacking income inequality in this country as well, through a variety of measures. The Fight for $15, campaigning for folks like Bernie Sanders, etc. Do it all and let’s do it now! I don’t see any shortcuts for stopping gun violence, it is an all and everything approach, but an all and everything of effective tactics that make sense and don’t divide working class people.
