I have a mixed opinion when it comes to gun ownership and possession I completely agree that it is amongst our government given right as a free people to own guns and use them to protect our self, family and home. I live in a high crime area. In 2007 Oakland has 127 homicides in which all but 22 were shootings. I don't attribute this to the fact that guns are available but to the fact that not enough is done in our communities to address crime.
I have worked in human, labor and community rights for nearly a decade now and have worked in areas like Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador and El Salvador (not to mention Detroit, NYC, South Central LA, Little Rock, New Orleans) and have seen what happens when people aren't allowed to own guns. I have also seen the destructive power of gun ownership and when guerrillas meet non appreciative villages. In no way am I saying that we have the same problem in our country but we have a true fight going on within out nation that will not be solved by banning guns or giving more guns to individuals. Very true that guns do no kill people but that people kill people but to really understand this we must look into what causes the murder in our society. Here in Oakland, murders are caused by one person or group of people defending their property or family. It may be that their property is largely comprised of drugs and their livelihood is to sell them but where do we draw the line? Education is key especially in our under privileged neighborhoods and cities. I understand that many of you live outside of main cities and therefore are not always (although sometimes) affected by what happens in our inner cities but this is something that should be a national concern.
In 2005, 11,346 murders were committed in the US using guns. In the same year, 5346 murders were committed using all other known ways. That's a pretty big gap. Drug related murders amount to the highest in our nation. There was a sharp increase in the trend of handgun related murders in the late 80's and early 90's during the development of crack cocaine markets. Although this increase has somewhat dropped the trend of drug related murders being the highest is still prevalent. Our youth are seeking drugs in inner cities where they are readily available and our youth are committing crimes against each other. Unfortunately, crimes related to crack cocaine, which are more prevalent in lower income areas of color, have a greater punishment than crimes related to powdered cocaine, which are more prevalent in more affluent, white communities.
These are just a few facts that I wanted to throw out from my experiences. I feel that we have a bigger issue to fight than trying to ban guns. Anyone, please feel free to check my numbers or facts. You can log onto the FBI's or Bureau of Justice's website to find these numbers.
It is not enough that we, as Americans, demand the right to own guns but that we, as Americans, demand that all rights of our great nation be upheld for all people.
Just my humble opinion.
