Gun culture

The gun culture is a culture shared by people in the gun politics debate, generally those who advocate preserving gun rights and who are against more gun control. In the United States, the term is used solely to identify gun advocates who are legitimate and legal owners and users of guns, using guns for self defense, sporting uses (hunting), and recreational uses (target shooting). By contrast, the term is used differently in the UK and Australia, where it refers to a growing use and ownership of guns by criminals.

Origins

In a 1970 article titled "America as a Gun Culture", [Hofstadter, Richard: "America as a Gun Culture". American Heritage Magazine, October, 1970.] the noted historian Richard Hofstadter used the phrase gun culture to describe America's long-held affection for guns, embracing and celebrating the association of guns and America's heritage.

According to political scientist Robert Spitzer, the American gun culture as it exists today is founded on three factors; the proliferation of firearms since the earliest days of the nation, the connection between personal ownership of weapons and the country's revolutionary and frontier history, and the cultural mythology regarding the gun in the frontier and in modern life. Spitzer writes that:

*Two elements of the modern American gun culture have survived since the earliest days of the country; the hunting/sporting ethos and the militia/frontier ethos.

*The Hunting/Sporting ethos emerged when America was an agrarian nation in which hunting was a valuable source of supplying food for settlers, guns were a means of protection from animal predators, and the market for furs could provide a source of income. Acquiring shooting skills was connected with survival, and acquiring these skills was a "rite of passage" for boys entering manhood. The role of guns as marks of maturity persists to this day. Today, hunting survives as a central component of the gun culture, although some predict that "hunting heritage" may disappear in the twenty-first century.

*The Militia/Frontier ethos emerged from early Americans' dependence on their wits and skill to protect themselves from hostile Native Americans and foreign armies. Survival depended upon everyone carrying a weapon (excluding blacks, and in a large part, women). In the late Eighteenth Century, there was neither the money nor manpower to maintain a full-time army; therefore the armed citizen soldier carried the responsibility of protecting his country. Service in militia, including providing your own ammunition and weapons, was mandatory for all adult males. Yet, as early as the 1790s, the mandatory universal militia duty gave way to voluntary militia units and a reliance on a regular army, with a decline of the importance of militia trend continuing throughout the Nineteenth Century.

*Closely related to the militia tradition was the frontier tradition, with the westward movement closely associated with weaponry. In the Nineteenth Century, firearms were closely associated with the westward expansion. Outlaws and Indians necessitated an armed citizenry ready to defend themselves. Expressions such as "the guns that won the West", however, typify an exaggeration of the impact of the gun, as they ignore that the taming of the west was primarily an agricultural and commercial movement. Western style "shoot-outs" were literally unheard of.

*Today, this veneration of firearms has left a deeply felt belief that guns are both an integral part of, and a force responsible for, America as it exists.Spitzer, Robert J.: "The Politics of Gun Control", Chapter 1. Chatham House Publishers, 1995.]

Present-day gun culture in the United States

Erik Luna, Associate Professor at the University of Utah College of Law, describes the differences between a "pro-gun culture" and an "anti-gun culture" in the United States" [http://www.houstonlawreview.org/archive/downloads/39-1_pdf/HLR39P53.pdf The .22 Caliber Rorschach Test] " by Erik Luna, article in Houston Law Review] ] and describes some traits of a "pro-gun culture" as follows:

* They share a belief that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution enumerates an individual right, (as further elaborated by Justice Antonin Scalia of the SCOTUS).cite web| last = Linder| first = Doug| authorlink =| coauthors = | title = DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., PETITIONERS v.DICK ANTHONY HELLER| work = Exploring Constitutional Law| publisher = University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School| date = 2008| url = http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/dcvheller.html| format = html| doi =| accessdate = 2008-07-26] Generally they see people as trustworthy and believe that others should not be prevented from having guns unless they have proven otherwise.
* They share a belief that guns provide some level of protection against criminality and tyranny. This ranges from a feeling that it's good to have a gun around the house for self-protection, to an active distrust of government and a belief that widespread gun ownership is protection against tyranny.
* They are generally responsible with respect to firearms handling. They have an awareness (or internalization) of either Jeff Cooper's Four Rules [ [http://www.thegunzone.com/therules.html Four Rules] ] or the NRA's Three Rules, [ [http://www.coyneparkrange.net/safe_rul.html Three Rules] ] providing for some level of safe handling of guns and try to abide by them when handling firearms.
* They support, widely and in principle, the gun rights associated with hunting and other outdoor sports activities, although these activities are not always practiced by all within the gun culture. Some members of the gun culture remain avid collectors and shooters but this is not universal.

Present day gun culture outside the United States

It should be noted that some aspects of gun culture do not apply the same in other countries as in the United States. Gun politics in Australia consists of just the two sides of gun control versus the gun rights of sportsmen, with no inclusion on the gun rights side of self-defence rights as in America, as there is no Second Amendment equivalent. Nonetheless, there are sizeable portions of rural Australia, extending over three Australian states, in which a well-established gun culture exists. In Australia, the minimum age for owning or purchasing a gun with a permit is 18. Those aged 12-17 may have a junior licence to shoot under supervision and is usually updated to a full licence when turning 18.Fact|date=January 2008

Likewise, gun culture is significantly different in the UK. It is currently an offence for anyone to be in possession of one without a valid licence. A licence may be obtained by anyone aged 17 or over who has a valid reason such as hunting or target shootingFact|date=January 2008

In New Zealand, the minimum age for possessing a firearms or gun licence is 16. At this age, one may legally own a gun. New Zealanders can also own fully automatic weapons with a license, though this is restricted to collectors and security personnel.Fact|date=January 2008

In Japan lawful ownership of firearms is rare and difficult, though there is some hunting and sport shooting. [cite web |url=http://www.guncite.com/journals/dkjgc.html |title=Japanese Gun Control |author=DAVID B KOPEL]

Gun nut

The term "Gun nut" has been used to describe those who are involved with the gun culture. It can have different connotations depending on how it is perceived and the intention of the person using it. To some gun owners, it is embraced affectionately, such as in the popular outdoors magazine Field and Stream which has a column called "The Gun Nut". [ [http://fieldandstream.blogs.com/ The Gun Nut] blog at Field & Stream] However to others it is regarded as a pejorative stereotype cast upon gun owners by anti-gun advocates as a means of implying that they are fanatical, exhibit abnormal behavior, or are a threat to the safety of others. [" [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BN&p_theme=bn&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF9B07493D3700&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Shoot-out Confirms Foreign View of America as 'Gun Nut' Country] " by T.R. Reid, "The Buffalo News", July 26, 1998] [" [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=LB&p_theme=lb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAE8D5DC080AAF3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Massacres Fail to Sway Gun Nuts and their Lobbyists] " November 7, 1991, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA)] [" [http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-guns17jun17,1,5131671.story?coll=la-news-comment Small steps on gun control] " Los Angeles Times, June 17, 2007] [" [http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2005030835,00.html Gun nut fired over pics] " by Jamie Pyatt, The Sun (UK)] [" [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/shooting/stories/world072698.htm 'Terror in Capitol' No Surprise to World] " By T.R. Reid, "Washington Post", July 26, 1998] The term has additionally been used at times by some law enforcement agencies to describe a profile to categorize criminal suspects. [" [http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/ely/2007/07/12/f3f18987-e731-4036-8da9-4eddb05652b5.lpf 'Gun nut' loses his jail sentence appeal] " in Cambridge Evening News, July 12, 2007] [" [http://www2.indystar.com/articles/9/171806-8689-228.html Pistol duel ended rampage] " by Richard D. Walton and Tom Spalding, "The Indianapolis Star", August 20, 2004 ]

References