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Views on the News: Gun Controls
In this views on the news author and writer Kevin Yuill shoots from the hip at a series of searching questions on gun ownership posed by young volunteers. The key issue Yuill argues is freedom. The idea of gun culture in the USA is a myth he explains, perpetuated by Guardian readers and movies. Mass shootings are rare and guns are not magical objects making people killers as soon as they lay their hands on one. There is no correlation between gun ownership and gun homicides, yet volunteers in this video find the facts hard to swallow. Distrust of our fellow citizens, unfamiliarity with guns and a degraded notion of freedom maybe to blame we learn, as Yuill sets the record straight.
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Related topics: Civil Liberties, Debates, Democracy, Social Change
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Darcus said:
I think his arguments are both weak and flawed. He used horses, safety razors and cars as comparisons to gun ownership, despite the fact all three items have non-violent uses, whilst guns are made purely for shooting and killing. Hand guns were not invented for hunting, they were created to shoot people at short distances. I also think it is a bit hypocritical of him to support gun ownership and be opposed to assisted suicide: defending the right of people to shoot others in defence, but not kill themselves to alleviate suffering? Very bizarre.
If arsenic were freely available to everyone, do you think death from poisoning would stay the same, or increase? Also, he says at the beginning he has 5 guns in his house, then later on says he doesn’t own a gun or feel the need to own one.
Saoirse said:
I never thought about the views behind the restriction of guns before. Thanks for chipping away at the base views on people and guns
Caroline said:
One of the most stupid arguments used against gun ownership is the fear of stupid and cruell people owning guns. Seems far too similiar to the fearmongering of some gun owners. Why not challenge the miserable prejudice that we need to be protected from our neighbours who are either amoral animals or fearful gun cranks.
Justyna said:
I am amazed why British are so scared of each other. And why are they so happy to let the governemnt and armny be the only allowed to have weapons.
Paul said:
If you have a gun, I want a gun. If you don’t have a gun i don’t want a gun. I would much, much rather that you didn’t have a gun.
Steve said:
I am a gun owner in the uk, and we have thorough background checks before being allowed to have one, and references required at least every 5 years, also doctor can be questioned as to suitability I am not against a sensible level of control but banning anything does not work, look at prohibition or todays drug scene.
SKJ said:
Great video and good arguments although I must say I was ‘iffy’ to start with as guns make me nervous, your point on boiling water though is compelling plus in the UK I think we give up freedom very easily whenever anything scary happens. So you persuaded me and I have voted 5* I do hope you win the $1000 that’s about £600 and I imagine you spend a lot more than that making these videos. All power to you and I’ll be back for more.
Siobhan said:
On the topic of gun control, I also think that people should have the right to own guns, and like Kevin mentioned, a lot of the argument boils down to the topic of freedom. But opposed to Kevin’s opposition for background checks, I think that there might be a necessity to have stricter background checks just to calm down strong supporters of gun control. Like Kevin mentioned, I’m not too surprised that gun owners tend to be more responsible; however, I think it’s also not false that there are some really irresponsible gun owners. But then again, like Kevin said, it’s mainly through media that people are affected by gun crimes due to the focus that media brings on them. In that sense, I can’t be sure whether or not stricter gun control will actually change much because even places with limited gun access have gun crimes.
Tamanna said:
Personally I think that carrying a gun with you should be a part of your own freedom. You won’t’ be told whether you should eat or not so why should you be told to carry a gun or not. Only you know your intentions and what you would do with the gun, no one else has the right to make assumptions. Sometimes people would carry guns around with them for self-protection reasons or even just hobbies. Like a person may fear roaming around the streets but if they have some kind of self-defence tools then it could boast their confidence. Also as said in the video by Kevin places where guns are allowed the crime rates tend to be lower than the places where guns are allowed to be carried by individuals. If people are used to seeing guns around them won’t be so shocked when coming in contact with one. Usually things which are banned draw more attention to people and grow more excitement when seen.
Sanjeeda Jalil said:
Before watching this video, I thought that the higher the gun ownership the higher the crime rates, However, Kevin stated that the estimated number of guns in the US are about 250 million and only 1% are used in homicidal attacks. This infers that owning guns is about control and freedom and not always linked to violence. However, if the UK starts endorsing the ownership of guns then I would be worried.
Pooja said:
I think that people should be given the right to own a gun and freely protect themselves if worse comes to worse. The figures for countries who are allowed to own a gun have a low number of shootings compared to other countries that have higher numbers of shootings where guns aren’t allowed. The citizens within the countries where guns are legal to use simply use them mainly for their hobbies which are sports such as hunting and not for the stereotypical views of killings and mass gang violence. So for this reason guns should be legalised within all countries in my opinion.