Land of the free, home of the brave?
Word is that American’s are not feeling quite so brave these days. At least not down in Texas. Many of them are buying guns and lobbying to be allowed to carry firearms on their morning commute. They fear an increase in crime sparked by the economic downturn. This according to the Financial Times:
In November last year there were a record 1,529,635 background checks for gun licences in the US, up 42 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In January 2009 the number of background checks requested was 1.21m, up from 942,556 in the same month last year, and rose in February to 1.3m, up from 1m in February 2008.
In 2004 over a third of American households reported owning a gun. In 2005, 10,100 homicides involved firearms in the US of A.
In this economic downturn, firearms are a growth industry.
2 Comments so far
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The good news is that and background checks are being done. An even better growth industry will be in teaching people the proper use and storage of firearms, and maybe even programs on anger management and nonviolent communication.
By Lynn Fraley on 03.27.09 8:53 am
From interviews with a lot of people buying guns that have been published on the internet, it is clear that fear, loathing and anger are a major driver to these purchases.
Best of luck with the anger management idea…right now, it is clear to me that many people do not want to confront their own anger-based pathologies. They are simply reacting to words, talking points and their peers, and anticipating…something bad.
By Graham Shevlin on 06.03.09 10:50 am
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