May 21, 2013
Robbery questions theory on gun control
One thing I thought of after the horrific tragedy yesterday in the bank in Beer Sheva has to do with gun control.
When the USA discusses the possibility of stricter gun control, one of the arguments often heard is the comparison to other societies and how they relate to guns relative to the level of violent crime perpetrated with guns in those societies.
One of the societies often looked at is Israel. We in Israel have guns all over the place in plain sight. Whether it is soldiers walking around with their M-16s slung over their shoulders or be it citizens who carry their Glocks or whatever else or be it security guards with their Uzis. There are guns in plain sight all over. And violent crime, especially crime with guns, is very low, even practically non-existent.
Then an incident like yesterdays rampage in a bank happens. While one incident does not really change things, necessarily - the number of violent crimes is still very small - but it should make one rethink the theory. Maybe the low level of violent crime in Israel is not because of the presence of all the guns in plain sight. Maybe the two are entirely unconnected. There are a lot of guns, and there is little violent crime.
But maybe the potential criminals are not dissuaded by the fact that there are so many guns everywhere one looks. Maybe it is an entirely different factor within the society that effects a low level of violent crime. I don't know what factor that might be - it could be anything.
Just thinking.
When the USA discusses the possibility of stricter gun control, one of the arguments often heard is the comparison to other societies and how they relate to guns relative to the level of violent crime perpetrated with guns in those societies.
One of the societies often looked at is Israel. We in Israel have guns all over the place in plain sight. Whether it is soldiers walking around with their M-16s slung over their shoulders or be it citizens who carry their Glocks or whatever else or be it security guards with their Uzis. There are guns in plain sight all over. And violent crime, especially crime with guns, is very low, even practically non-existent.
Then an incident like yesterdays rampage in a bank happens. While one incident does not really change things, necessarily - the number of violent crimes is still very small - but it should make one rethink the theory. Maybe the low level of violent crime in Israel is not because of the presence of all the guns in plain sight. Maybe the two are entirely unconnected. There are a lot of guns, and there is little violent crime.
But maybe the potential criminals are not dissuaded by the fact that there are so many guns everywhere one looks. Maybe it is an entirely different factor within the society that effects a low level of violent crime. I don't know what factor that might be - it could be anything.
Just thinking.
------------------------------------------------------
Reach thousands of readers with your ad by advertising on Life in Israel
------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Related Posts
Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
ReplyDeleteI saw some talk about doing an investigation into the judge that allowed him to keep the gun despite the police request to take away his license.
On the other hand, I've had two friends who've had their guns taken away because their ex-wives complained at the police. In those cases, there is no kaf zchut, and my friends were screwed. (one was as security guard)
Jason, I expect more from you on this. This article is completely asinine. It asserts that because there are armed citizens in Israel, the mass shooting should have been stopped. Let's look at the clear stupidity of this assertion.
ReplyDelete1. Who is to say that there was anybody armed in the bank at the time?
2. The shooter walked into a bank and immediately makes it a confined hostage situation, meaning if nobody is armed, there will be no defense against the shooter. Also, because they are in the barricaded bank it makes for a much trickier situation for an armed person to assist. They would need to be able to tell friend from foe and shoot.
3. Dozens and dozens of terrorist attacks have been stopped cold by armed citizens in Israel. Period. End of story.
To assert that this one isolated, misconstrued scenario proves anything about armed vs. armed citizens is ridiculous.
I will tell you one thing. I bet every last person in that bank at the time wished they had a gun.
Thanks
Delete