Emma_Orner by Freestyle Academy

Calling Shotgun

By Emma Orner 1

Table of Contents Dedication

Page 3

Foreword

Page 4

Introduction

Page 8

Chapter One: Where did all the guns go?

Page 11

Chapter Two: The "Americanized" Tradition

Page 14

Chapter Three: Too Much Trust

Page 18

Works Cited

Page 26

Dedication To my family and everyone at the Coyote Clays Shooting Range. You are an inspiration to everyone.

f o r e w o r d

I live in a very anti-gun family. My mother believes that ignorance is bliss and steers my siblings and I away from the allure of the firearm industry. I’ve been taught to look down upon those who practice their right to bare arms by the media, which claims that mass shootings and murders all occur because the 2nd Amendment exists. Up until now, I have agreed with the media. I believed that every slaughter and killing of innocent people occured because there were guns in the world. Never once did it go through my mind that maybe guns aren’t the problem. Stepping onto a shooting range for the first time was like stepping into a different world. I was expecting everyone to look over their shoulder, worried that one wrong move could start a bloodbath. I could not have been more wrong. The shooting range is like a small community based off of trust. Everyone trusts everyone to make the right decision. Without this trust, safety could not be achieved. I put my life in the hands of everyone around me the moment I stepped onto the range. This notion scared me at first. I didn’t know these people, nor did I trust them. I felt uncomfortable and out of place being surrounded by a population who spends their weekends shooting targets with a semi-automatic rifle. It seemed too easy to accidentally misfire and shoot someone. However, meeting the people at the range erased my fears. Never before have I met such welcoming people willing to share their stories with a stranger. They were welcoming and often inspiring. I met war vets, EMT’s, doctors, and marines. All of them go to the range to spend time with friends and learn about how to prevent firearm hazards. This drastically changed my perception on firearms and taught me many things I wasn’t aware of. I learned that these people are no different from anyone else, and that many of them have taken extensive training before handling a firearm. It struck me as odd that the media never tried to delve into the idea that firearms can be used a positive influence in society. There’s more to firearms than just the mass shootings and murders. There is a whole population devoted to tradition and safety. It’s time someone’s unearthed their presence.

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Calling Shotgun

Introduction Alphonse Gabriel Capone, better known as Al Capone, ruled the streets of Chicago in the 1920s. Infamous for his bloody massacres and endless gang violence, he controlled the prohibition era in America. He was untouchable, displaying an endless power that prevented authorities from convicting him of gang violence. Capone was eventually convicted for his failure to pay his taxes and sent to Alcatraz where he spent ten years of his life deteriorating in health and eventually dying. This nationwide surge of gang violence, however, wasn’t spurred from Al Capone himself, but from the 18th amendment. This short lived amendment prevented the sale and consumption of alcohol in the United States, with fines such as jail time or monstrous fees if guilty. But instead of stopping the flow of alcohol in America, it drastically increased consumption along with violence. Gangs were established to transport liquor to America from Canada and Mexico to sell for exorbitantly high prices on the streets. The black market of America was doused with alcohol and created a war for power that consumed everyone. But what does Al Capone and the 18th amendment have to do with hunter safety in America today? Many political leaders have argued that the amount of firearms in America directly relates to the amount of violence stimulated by gangs. So what’s their reasonable response? Ban guns in America. However, in Capone’s case, it was the 18th amendment that incited the rampant gang wars, and not the amount of guns. Therefore, banning guns will have no effect in reducing crime, and may even potentially increase it. As NRA member Dennis Fazzio explains, “when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” If guns cannot be banned, then what can be done to prevent firearm violence? Firearms can have a positive influence; the world is just blind to the idea of how that could be possible. Although firearms are perceived to escalate harmful situations, their presence can enhance safety and prevent crime if educational courses became a requirement in society.

You can get a lot farther with a kind word and a gun than a kind word alone. -Al Capone

Image 1. Empty Rifle Slugs

Image 2 . View inside a gun vault

Chapter One According to the Gun Owners of America, “twice as many children are killed playing football in school than are murdered by guns”(gunowners.org). The media often fails to indicate the hazards of a popular pastime since firearm violence attracts more attention from the public. However, does this mean the media frequents lying to the public about the real threat of firearms in order to obtain publicity? Firearm violence is a very real and growing issue within America, as demonstrated by the countless murders and shootings occurring everyday. The media may embellish upon a story involving gun abuse, but the facts are indisputable. Fifteen of the twenty-five worst mass shootings in the last fifty years took place in the United States(Klein 1). Guns are becoming an issue that needs to be fixed, or the murder rate will go up. But how can this be done? Completely banning firearms in the United States remains a popular theory. However, it directly rejects the 2nd Amendment, which grants the American people the right to bare arms. The government is not allowed to interfere in constitutional rights. The 2nd Amendment “protections were not intended for the state but for each individual against the state.”(63) America was built upon the idea of a weak central government and a strong public opinion. Firearms assure the people’s ability to retaliate if that basic principle is questioned. If disbanding the American people is unconstitutional, the concept of arming more citizens inevitably surfaces. In a “nation where gun violence remains a virtual epidemic, the very poison itself is also assumed to be the antidote.”(56) With more firearms in the hands of the public, the possibility of conducting illegal actions, such as robbing a bank, becomes drastically difficult when everyone is armed. For example, school shootings would have less of an impact on society if teachers were armed and able to fight back. According to Michael Huemer, “increas[ing the] availability of guns to the general public should result in decreased violence crime.”(50) The state of Vermont allows the carrying of concealed weapons with no need for a permit. Likewise, Vermont has one of the lowest crime rates in America. However, Vermont is a very rural state--very different from the congested cities of Los Angeles or New York City. Guns have the ability to quickly escalate a situation, if everyone has a gun, can the situation be escalated?

If the amount of guns in society cannot be changed, then what can be done to solve this problem? Hunter’s education courses are classes offered in select areas that teach the rules of hunting and how to handle a gun. It stresses safety and requires a written test in order to pass. If state law for the purchase or handling of a firearm required this course, the amount of gun casualties would drop rapidly. Many children (as well as a good number of adults) “can’t tell the difference between a real gun or a fake one” (Brody 23). The media has made firearms too familiar to children in movies and first-person shooting games. They tend to not understand that when someone is badly wounded by a gun that they will not get up. There are no second chances with firearms. When you “have a firearm in your hand, you are in control with everything around you”(Fabrozzi).

Image 3. Container of bullets

Chapter Two

Image 4. back of shooting range

New York became the first state to require a hunter’s education course in the late 1940’s. Many other states developed programs with similar curriculums, however, not all were mandatory. It was established because of the growing gang violence that was prevalent at the time. The safety courses helped decline the amount of gun violence drastically. Firearms are constituted into two different categories: semi-automatic and automatic. Semi-automatic guns fire a single bullet every time the trigger is pulled and make up the largest portion of guns in America because of their availability and expense. Automatic guns fire bullets as long as the trigger is squeezed making them a hazard. Because of this, the federal government closely regulates them and are often illegal to own in the United States. California has one of the strictest gun control laws in the United States, requiring written exams, background checks, and a ten-day waiting period before one can completely own a firearm. Implementation of this in-depth process has drastically reduced the number of gun deaths by nearly 33%. (Klein 2) However, obtaining illegal firearms through black markets still remains a large inhibiting factor in the declination of gun violence. The debate on the growing popularity of obtaining illegal firearms through the black market has spurred a wave of panic. The public often hounds state mayors to implement stricter gun laws to prevent the black market from being so successful. However, “if someone wants to do bad, they are going to find a way to do it.” (Fabrozzi) Exerting more governmental control in the process of obtaining firearms cannot and will not prevent gun violence. The black market is thriving in the field of illegal firearms and getting in their way can only cause more violence. Shooting as a sport has become a wildly popular approach to exercising the 2nd amendment. There is nearly one shooting range for every ten thousand people in America. (Time.org) Each range is required to establish a set of rules or guidelines that assure the utmost safety is being practiced. Protective eyewear and earplugs are always required while on the range. Failure to comply could threaten one’s own safety. The sport of shooting has accumulated a wide range of participants. It is deemed as a very “Americanized” activity that lends respect to a strong history of culture and family. Many people who participate in this sport have strong feelings pertaining the government’s reaction to firearm violence. Explaining that “politicians know nothing” and that “they can’t take away our basic rights.” Shooting has become a way of life for them. A large portion of those who participate are ex-marines or firemen. As Lieutenant Chris Hsiung of the Mountain View Police Department explains, “many of our officers go to ranges on their own accord because they like it. It has become a pastime for them.” Many EMS personnel take courses that teach the usage of firearms and what to do in threatening situations. They use shooting drills and “zombie” cardboard cutouts as targets to reenact dangerous hostage situations.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." -2nd Amendment of the US Constitution

Image 5. Inside of Gun vault

Image 6. Empty bullet casings

Image 7. Handfull of empty gun cartridges

Chapter Three Firearm violence has been the subject of a wide arrange of heated debates. The inability of the common people to use and handle firearms safety has cost thousands of lives. Recent shootings, such as the one at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, have spurred an outbreak of gun restriction laws. Living in an area blind to these drastic political changes, I found this issue to have a side that not many are aware of. While a percentage of the population is against firearms altogether, those who regularly practice shooting express strong feelings towards its importance, heritage, and safety. Firearm owners that I have met stress the magnitude of safety and shooting as a privilege that can only be protected by the utmost responsibility. “I don’t think I should be penalized for someone else’s actions,” Marcus West, a local firearm shooter explains. He continues to explain his experience in Iraq and how the hardest thing in the service was “to look at someone and take their life.” Shooting at firearm ranges has become his way to cope with PTSD. He stresses his fear of sleeping weeks after he returned from service, how he couldn’t cope with the difference between home and a war zone. The shooting range allowed him to confront his fears and put his past behind him. It’s like another feeling stepping onto a shooting range. Everyone there is aware that firearms have a conflicting view upon the public. However, gun owners are passionate about what they believe in and will fight for their right to continue participating in this sport. They will opening explain the political situation with firearms and convey multiple theories on how this issue could be solved. Nearly everyone at the Coyote Clays Shooting Range explained that they took a hunter’s education course simply because they wanted to. Marcus West explains “you learn something new about shooting everyday. You got to keep up with the law, and you can do that really well with the hunter’s safety courses.” Through support of the firearm community, we can help persuade federal and state officials to add to the United States Constitution. Hunter’s education courses need to be a requirement in order to obtain or sell any firearm in America. This action will help depress the growing crime rate and mass shootings. Also, creating curriculum in schools similar to the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle” program could ensure that firearm abuse is avoided in early ages.

Image 8. Box of loaded bullets

Image 9. Empty Bullet Casings

The world of shooting ranges is filled with trust and reliance. Everyone trusts you will make the right decision and handle your firearm with care. Everyone relies on you to do so. Never before have I seen so much trust being enacted upon people who don’t know each other. We are all relying on their trust. It is for this reason that I felt safe during my time on the range. I met families teaching their young kids how to hold a firearm and best friends spending the afternoon together shooting. Shooting has become a rite of passage and a way to spend time with friends. It brings people together, strengthening the American tradition. Though the importance of hunter’s education courses need to be greatly reiterated to uphold the dissipating safety, I have found that banning all firearms in America is out of the question. We have built our society around guns, creating movies like The Godfather and first-person shooting games like Call of Duty. By removing firearms, we are removing our culture, which we have based our lives off of. Through support of the firearm community, we can help persuade federal and state officials to add to the United States Constitution; hunter’s education courses need to be a requirement in order to obtain or sell any firearm in America. This action will help depress the growing crime rate and mass shootings. Also, creating a curriculum in schools similar to the NRA’s “Eddie Eagle” program could ensure that firearm abuse is avoided in early ages.

Image. 10 close up of sheriff's sign

Image 9. Automatic Gun

Image 10. Semi-Automatic Gun

Works Cited “Chuck Fabrozzi Interview.” Personal interview. 26 Jan. 2013. Davis, Aaron C. “Gun-control Debate Takes Center Stage in Maryland.” The Washingto Post. The Washington Post, 06 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. “Gun Control Fact Sheet-2004.” Gun Owners of America. Gun Owners of America, 19 Sept. 2004. Web. 21 Mar. 2013.

Levitt, Steven D., and Stephen J. Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005. Print. “Lieutenant Chris Hsiung.” Personal interview. 20 Mar. 2013. “Marcus West.” Personal interview. 27 Feb. 2013. Richert, Larry. “Latest News.” CBS Pittsburgh. CBS Pittsburgh, 6 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Rogers, Alex. “Gun Owners Trust the NRA but Agree with Obama.” Swampland Gun Owners Trust the NRA but Agree with Obama Comments. Time, 8 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. Scott, Steve. “NRAHuntersRights.org - Learn What NRA Is Doing to Defend Your Free dom to Hunt.” NRAHuntersRights.org - Learn What NRA Is Doing to Defend Your Freedom to Hunt. NRA, 21 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

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