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2/27/2018, 1:03pm

Understanding gun culture differences should improve gun safety

By Erica Mckinnon
Understanding gun culture differences should improve gun safety

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Gun control has been a hot topic of discussion lately with the mass shootings leaving families, loved ones and friends angry, heartbroken and fed up. No one is talking about gun culture, so let’s talk about it. In America, the gun culture today reflects how divided this world is when it comes to its cultural differences. What society must understand is the difference in cultural gun use. For example, the use of guns is justified from the rural standpoint that guns are used for target practice and hunting. 

As far as gun use in the inner cities, gun violence is so prevalent that the only justifications for its use is for protection purposes whether it is to protect your family from danger or protect yourself from possible threats. Rural and urban gun owners, in particular, differ in many ways. Three-quarters of those in rural areas (75 percent) say they own more than one (gun), compared with 48 percent of urban owners,” according to Pew Research Center. 

Gun culture comes from two different angles, where hunting in the rural areas is viewed as a rite of passage, which makes it acceptable for there to more than one gun in the household. The other angle to take into consideration is the heavy gun violence in the marginalized communities and inner-cities that makes gun use a requirement to protect. The fact that gun violence in the inner-cities is becoming of a norm of this society as well as, the stereotype, creates for marginalized populations. 

What needs to be implemented is a system of gun laws that teaches gun owners and users the proper use of guns to prevent incidents like mass shootings and accidental shootings that involve children. The way adults teach their child the principles of respect is the same way gun users and owners should go about the principles of respecting a gun. Since guns are an easy passage to killing people, the staff believes understanding the difference in gun culture would help people realize that it is more than just having a right to the Second Amendment, but it’s about respecting the right to the Second Amendment.

To avoid impulsive actions, adults and communities should have the idea of gun knowledge since some people do not understand the importance of gun safety in source. “Public mass shootings account for a tiny fraction of the country’s gun deaths, but they are uniquely terrifying because they occur without warning in the most mundane places,” according to The Washington Post. Since mass shootings happen in places we do not expect, such as concerts and educational institutions, we do not think of safety measures or precautions that should take place. Now mass shootings and gun-related deaths are unfortunately becoming a reality, we as a people should take into consideration the safety of all people in all places.

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