THE NOBLE USES OF FIREARMS

Plus: Gun hatred and a gun-free world

In the great din of the national firearms debate it's easy to lose sight of the noble and respectable place firearms hold and have always held in American life. While some gun use in America is criminal and despicable, other applications appeal to the highest ideals our society cherishes, and are enshrined in and ensured by the statutes on the books:

• Protecting your family in emergencies
• Personal safety and self defense
• Preventing and deterring crimes
• Detaining criminals for arrest
• Guarding our national borders
• Preserving our interests abroad
• Helping defend our allies
• Overcoming tyranny
• International trade
• Emergency preparedness
• Commerce and employment
• Historical preservation and study
• Obtaining food by hunting
• Olympic competition
• Collecting
• Sporting pursuits
• Target practice
• Recreational shooting

News reports, by focusing almost exclusively on criminal misuse of firearms, create the false impression that firearms and crime are directly linked, when in fact almost all guns never have any link whatsoever to crime. The media, while claiming to be unbiased, judiciously ignore stories concerning justifiable homicide in legitimate self defense, which occur almost daily according to the FBI.

A reasonable person should object to the media's mearly total silence on the effect the firearms industry has on jobs in the manufacturing sector, contributions to the tax base, capital and investments, scientific advances, national trade and balance of payments, ballistics, chemistry, metallurgy, and, of course, the enjoyment of millions of decent people who use firearms righteously.

Some people associate guns with crime, fear and danger, and want them to go away. Those who associate guns with liberty, freedom, honor, strength and safety understand the irreplaceable role firearms play in our lives.

GETTING TO A GUN-FREE WORLD

Many of us long for a gun-free world. If only we could get rid of all the guns, such a major portion of our problems would just evaporate. A huge source of anxiety would be gone forever.

It’s actually quite easy to imagine a gun free world, because we’ve been there -- Ghengis Khan, Attilla the Hun, Julius Caeser -- that’s what a gun-free world looks like. They wiped out entire cities, burned them to the ground, killed, raped, pillaged, without the guns.

So I think what we’re really saying is, we want a world without guns, in an era of prosperity, abundance, harmony and enduring peace. To get there, we must be a race of people without the Four Horsemen of Human Havoc -- angry, hungry, stupid and wicked.

And that my friends, is the enduring problem.

Guns and violence are separate, even unrelated concepts. Violence happens just fine thank you without guns. Humanity's propensity for attack and assault is what requires the use of force for protection and defense. Legitimate protection and defense -- whether privately or by organized policing forces -- deserve the best tools possible. Until the human race changes, we can’t get to a weapon-free world, because the good need them against the wicked. When Attilla the Hun came marching to town, that’s when you really needed a gun.

I can’t wait for all that violence to end.
Visualize world peace.

Alan Korwin, Utopian Pacifist and Realist
“Disarm everyone, bad guys first”

GUN HATRED

Gun-o-phobia -- morbid or irrational fear of weapons -- has a name.

Do you hate guns? It's not good to hate.

The good news is you can stop the hating.

Unbridled, unyielding irrational fear of anything is a medical condition. You should be afraid of swimming pools -- even if you don't have one -- because you can drown in a pool. Everyone needs the respect for pools that the fear causes, because it helps keeps you safe. Education then helps keep you safer.

So I ask again, do you hate guns, and wish they would just go away? You may be suffering from hoplophobia, the morbid fear of weapons. This can be treated -- just like fear of water or bugs or anything else -- but first it must be understood. Denying a phobia is one of the signs that you have it.

Read Dr. Sarah Thompson's careful, researched and clear explanation of what's behind gun fear. You may never want to own a gun -- many people do not -- but you owe it to yourself to understand the subject, and not be simply ruled by your fears.

Alan Korwin is a full-time free-lance writer and author of seven books on gun law, including Gun Laws of America Every Federal Gun Law on the Books with Plain English Summaries. Permission to reprint this article is granted to non-profit organizations, provided credit is given to Alan Korwin, Bloomfield Press, Scottsdale, AZ. All others, just call us.