“OPPOSING PERCEPTIONS”
by Jay Chambers, ©2018
(Aug. 23, 2018) — Some years ago, politics didn’t have much to do with guns and the regulations that gun owners had to respect. Everything was simple and easy – if you had a gun, you had to know how and when to use it, and also not to leave it unsupervised.
However, the increase in violence, crime, and petty crime has made many people choose a gun as their means of protection. Of course, having a gun to protect you is no big deal, and people have been doing it for hundreds of years. But, as the number of people who want to own a gun – for protection or sport – increases, the requirements necessary to own one get very close to actually not being there.
Is Economy More Important?
Because the gun industry is also one that’s moving the entire economy of a country, gun manufacturers have devised various tactical approaches in order to make guns more approachable and easier to buy. As a result, politics has stepped in to see how they can benefit from the increasing numbers of gun owners.
But, of course, it’s not only about the economy. Due to the shootings that took place in the last years – school shootings, club shootings – the category labeled as gun owners has become endangered. For most people, having a gun means that it is very likely to be stolen by some deranged fellow who would then proceed to commit violent acts.
Not only that, but given the little effort that is required to get your hands on a firearm, people blame the laws in place for not regulating one’s requirements to possess such an item. So far, we’ve seen little gun control being instated; therefore, we start wondering if the economy is much more important to a country than the victims of these guns and gun owners.
First of all, it’s safe to say that the laws don’t become any stricter because of the money the weapon industry is able to make for the country. A gun is fairly cheap, and with the increasing number of people who want a gun, mainly for protection, this means more money – for the NRA and not only.
Politics versus Economy
In terms of how gun owners are especially susceptible to politics, things get quite simple. There will be the political parties that will vote for gun control and stricter gun regulations, and this will upset the gun owners – or the future gun owners.
On the other hand, there will be parties and politicians who will say there is no need for gun control – for better security and the possibility to provide the citizen the personal means of protection he needs. Of course, this will split the people into two camps and it is quite likely that the political side that favors gun owners will get the most votes during the next campaign. Why?
It is because, as we’ve mentioned before, gun owners have become a majority in the country and therefore, their power to vote is noticeable. According to this source, if only people who owned guns had voted in the last presidential election, then Trump would have won all of the votes, except for one single state, and if only people that didn’t own guns had voted, then Hillary Clinton would have won the election, being short on only two states.
This means that the division between gun owners and those who don’t own guns is one of the strongest ones out there – stronger than between urban and rural voters, and even between white and nonwhite Americans.
Therefore, the ones who gain from this are the Conservatives, because having a gun means that you will probably cast a pro-Republican vote since laws and regulations are in your favor.
The Political Side of Gun Ownership – How Are These Linked?
We’ve already seen, in the last paragraphs, why gun owners can be influenced by politics so easily. It’s not that they are influenced; it’s more the fact that they want to have the freedom of carrying a gun and feeling protected.
In essence, gun ownership stands for an array of values and principles – such as powerful individualism, personal freedom and, most important, safety. Supposedly, 67 percent of gun owners indicate that protection is a primary reason for getting a gun.
Of course, it is this mix of values that has the potential of shaping political perceptions and opinions. These are the values that intersect with the values promoted by the “conservative” ideology – namely, the Republican Party.
It’s only natural that the people will support the party that’s giving them the most benefits and not the one that’s adding regulations and gun control. For example, only 44% of the gun owners have said that they would agree with the banning of high-capacity magazines.
On the other hand, in line with a 2016 investigation, large-capacity magazines play a fundamental role in gang-related violence. In fact, the number of people who died as a result of gunshot has doubled during the last decades. In spite of this evidence, gun-rights advocates outline that this is unlikely to have a notable impact on casualties and restricting magazine size would be inconvenient.
Moreover, only 54% of them said “Yes” when they were asked if they agreed with the creation of a federal database that would track gun sales, and we can see that some things that seem natural, and of common sense, are only agreed upon by half of gun owners. This is one of the reasons why the federal government cannot attempt to study the whole implications of gun violence.
However, when we turn to the other side of the table, 53% of owners would have voted for a shorter waiting period for the legal purchase of guns, while 67% of them wanted concealed-carry of firearms to be allowed in more places.
We can notice what most gun owners are after – and we do see the main points of view some of them have, but it’s important that a gun owner wouldn’t let himself influenced by politics.
For example, if all of the gun owners would prefer choosing the political side where the least regulations regarding gun control are implied, then the number of shootings would drastically increase. There are good sides and bad sides when it comes to gun control and to what the majority of gun owners really want.
Some want just an easy time while buying new guns, while some are looking to protect themselves and their families.
The Bottom Line
Because of the many school shootings that took place in the past few years, people are trying to instate stricter gun control laws – but since this doesn’t make the majority of gun owners happy, there will always be the other side that will try and benefit from it.
So, as a gun owner, you are likely to be influenced by politics – that’s because the ruling political party will tell you what you want to hear about gun control or the other way around. One thing is for sure: gun owners and non-gun-owners have opposing perceptions regarding the severity of gun violence and its many implications.
Opinions diverge when it comes to the risks of acquiring guns illegally as opposed to getting them legally. On a different note, gun owners are more prone to know someone who has been shot, in comparison with non-gun-owners. In spite of this, the idea that gun ownership is a guarantee for safety is still promoted by gun advocates.
The fact that gun ownership has become synonymous with political identity definitely plays a role. The cause is actually the division between the individualist attitude – which focuses on the individual autonomy and the communitarian attitude – which concentrates on the good of the community. It would be safe to argue that gun advocates’ views are identity, culturally, and politically determined.
About the Author: Jay Chambers is a pro-free speech business owner based in Austin, Texas. Having lived through several natural disasters and more than a few man-made ones (hello, 2008), he believes that resilience and self-sufficiency are essential in this increasingly unpredictable world. That’s why he started a business! Jay writes over at Minute Man Review. He is not professionally affiliated with the Republican Party or the NRA.