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by Bruce D. Thatcher (Author)
"How can we reduce death and injury caused by guns?" is the wrong question. A much better question is "how can we reduce the overall rates of suicide and violent crime?" Gun Mania brings that question to the forefront by looking at the history of America and four other nations to identify why guns are a core element of only the American culture, and implications for reducing our rate of violent deaths. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were all settled and developed, initially, by migrants from the United Kingdom. But key differences in the development circumstances led to guns becoming a core cultural element only in America. Because guns are not significant in the cultures of these other countries, they have been able to implement substantial gun control. Because guns are a core element of the American culture, the sorts of gun measures that have been accepted in the other four countries generally will not work in America. When confronted with the problem of gun deaths, many want guns to be the problem. They're easy to see. Dealing with them should be simple and fast; just pass new laws to keep guns away from people who shouldn't have them, or from everyone. However, this approach hasn't, doesn't and won't work in America. A different strategy has far more potential for saving lives.
