Memories of the 28th Century

I have read a few items recently that suggest that many people think that Americans are obsessed with guns, firearms. That idea is mistaken. While there are some people who love guns more than is reasonable, Americans have no particular affection for guns; they reserve their love for people who might appreciate it, rather than having love for inanimate objects.

Comments about Americans being gun crazy usually come out shortly after some mentally unbalanced person has slain several people. And some people suggest that the deaths wouldn't have taken place, if the killer didn't have any firearms. Take a look at the links below. I only went to the first page of results on Google, so I only a few examples of mass murders with no firearms involved. Knives have been commonly used for attacks on large numbers of people, because a slash is more likely to do some damage than a random bullet. If a blade doesn't hit something major, then it may still cause a lot of bleeding. The guy in Oklahoma killed five and seriously injured another. Knives are quite popular in the Far East; check out article about twenty-nine killed and one hundred thirty injured in China with no firearms involved.

There used to be a fairly common problem in Malaysia where people would run around with a large knife; it was called "running amok". Firearms aren't required for killing, and, if you want to get many, then don't bother with knives either. In the Middle East suicide bombs have been popular for a number of years. I won't even try to figure out how many have died from suicide bombers, but there have been more than have died from mass murders in the U.S.A. Someone on Wikipedia was nice enough to put together the statistics for suicide bombings in Israel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...uicide_attacks. If you want a total, then add them up.

There is a database of suicide bombings, link below, if you enjoy detailing such things than look through it. And there is also a Database of Terrorist Attacks, see link below.

Please note that if you wish to kill many people, then firearms are not the most effective way. Bombs, poison gas, knives, and other methods are much more effective. Just remember that the largest mass murders in the U.S.A. were the bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and the destruction of the World Trade Center by jetliner.
　
There are some people who think that individuals should not be allowed to own firearms. I won't even guess as to why they think that, but I expect that there are many reasons. Here in the United States of America citizens are guaranteed the right to have and to bear arms. There are several reasons for the guarantee; the main reasons are so that the people will be able to Institute this clause in the Declaration of Independence: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it. . ." The right to have and to bear arms is required for people to overthrow an abusive government. Another reason why we have been guaranteed the right to have and to bear arms is for self-defense. While there are countries that do not formally recognize the right of self-defense, that right is fundamental and a natural right that is practiced by all animals and does really need to be put into law, because it is so fundamental.

I have been trying to make two arguments here that firearms are not a cause of murder; they are simply one of many possible instruments with which people can kill, and there are good reasons for individuals to have firearms, if they want them. I personally do not own any firearms, even though I am an American. If I had any reason to have firearms, then I would get some, but, like the majority of Americans, I do not have a close personal relationship with firearms.

There are other parts of the world where people commonly own and use firearms; France comes to mind. And it wasn't that long ago when the British were almost universally gun owners; there were several reasons why the guns were seized.

One of the reasons why Afghanistan hasn't been successfully conquered is that all of the men own forearms and are quite ready to use them against enemies. This is what the American right to have and to bear arms is about also. I think it would be easier to argue that all people should be required to have and to bear arms than to make a reasonable argument that no people except authorized government personnel should be able to have firearms.

A few questions remain. We know that guns are not the most effective instruments for mass murder, but what is? Then there is the matter of the people who engage in mass murders. Nearly all of them were clearly insane, but they were free to walk around, buy weapons, and so on. I realize that a few decades ago most of the mental hospitals were closed, because they "dehumanized" the patients, but I would contend that the patients were "dehumanized" before they got to the hospitals. Anyone who knows anything of the matter would agree that there were abusive conditions in many of the hospitals, but many people who would be in those institutions, if they were still in operation, are living in conditions that make the hospitals look good. Many of them are homeless or living in the lowest quality housing. Generally they don't have enough money to live comfortably, and many of them are drunks and/or drug addicts. Some of them are quite incapable of taking care of themselves. Mental hospitals may not be good solutions, but they would provide solutions to some problems, and they might prevent some mass murders, if they existed.
　
　
Killed eight by knife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_school_massacre
School attacks in China 2010-2012: Nine attacks with knives, hammers, etc. No guns, about twenty killed and many serious injuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School...10%E2%80%9312)
The Butcher's Bill
http://stephenewright.com/fromtheblu...-mass-murders/
Can You Guess Why You Probably Haven’t Heard About THIS Mass Murder in Oklahoma?
http://toprightnews.com/can-you-gues...r-in-oklahoma/
Knife-wielding attackers killed 29, injured 130 at China train station
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/01/world/...ailway-attack/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Kunming_attack
Suicide bombing database
http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_new.php
List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tan_since_2001
Suicide attacks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_attack
Database of terrorist attacks
http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/

An article 10/9/2015 showing that guns are just another instrument for killing. http://www.oregonlive.com/data/2015/...er_causes.html