A couple of weeks ago five friends were minding their own business having dinner at Culver’s on the East Side. All of a sudden the police showed up and asked them for ID. Two refused and were taken into custody for obstructing law enforcement. Now all five are being charged with disorderly conduct and the Madison Police Department and its chief are the defendants in a federal lawsuit.
All this because the friends, members of the pro-gun group Wisconsin Carry, went to dinner armed. It’s hard not to laugh a little at the situation; of all the places in the world to take a gun, why Culver’s? It makes sense though. One of Wisconsin Carry’s goals is to normalize the sight of openly armed citizens, so they organize events where members get together and do mundane things while carrying weapons. But they are also provocateurs, pushing the limits of public tolerance in order to advance their particular vision of the role of firearms in society.
They argue we would be safer if everyone were armed. One of their members is quoted in the State Journal claiming “at the moment you’re getting your head beat in, you probably wouldn’t mind someone being on scene with a gun.” That’s a powerful image and difficult to argue with, but it is myth, not reality. In Hollywood perhaps, guns save lives, but everywhere else in the world they take them.
Advocate groups like Wisconsin Carry envision a world where guns are a ubiquitous and comforting site; a world where a well-armed populace serves as a deterrent to would be criminals. That’s fantasy though; the reality of a well-armed nation is something entirely different.
Take Honduras for example. My grandparents used to live in the capital, Tegucigalpa. This is a place where guns are ever present. You can tell how affluent shopkeepers are by the quality of their security guards’ weapons. Assault rifles at the bank, shotguns for the mall, bolt-action rifles from WWI at the gas station. Even Dunkin’ Donuts gets armed protection.
The same goes for private citizens. I went to a club with some Hondurans, and as we got in the car to head home, my friend took his pistol out of the glove box and tucked it under his leg. Another wonderfully nice lady named Daisi, socialite of the Catholic church and member of my grandparents’ prayer group, carried a Glock in her purse. One of my grandfather’s friends who sang in the choir chose a Smith and Wesson. In fact, almost everyone who can afford it carries a weapon.
How do Hondurans feel about all those guns? In my experience they are very proud of their weapons; they like having them and enjoy the impressions of security they confer. But still they remain terrified of their city. And for good reason: At last count the murder rate in Honduras was 67 slayings per 100,000 persons. For comparison that’s almost double the rates of Colombia and South Africa, more than four times that of Mexico and more than 13 times the rate in the United States. Weapons may buy Hondurans confidence, but not peace of mind and certainly not safety.
To be fair, the preponderance of guns in Honduras is as much a symptom of violence as it is a cause. The nation faces deep structural problems like overwhelming poverty, unemployment and intractable socioeconomic divides that contribute to crime. Even so, the fact that a country with such a well-armed populace continues to suffer an astronomical murder rate puts the lie to the ridiculous idea that streets bristling with weapons are somehow safer than those without them.
Will the U.S. become Honduras? Likely not. But after two decades of decreasing crime rates and stricter gun laws things are looking down. Courts recently struck down handgun bans in D.C. and Chicago. Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and Arizona passed laws allowing people to carry concealed weapons in bars. The governor of Texas wants to allow guns on college campuses after a recent incident at the University of Texas.
Despite the dramatic claims of groups like Wisconsin Carry, guns do not make people safer. A better armed populace does not prevent crime. Sensible gun owners need to pressure their peers into behaving safely and responsibly by leaving their weapons at home under lock and key. Business owners should also recognize that if they allow weapons on their premises they are placing employees and customers at risk.
Geoff Jara-Almonte ([email protected]) is a 4th year medical student.
