1. Introduction This investigation proposes to examine the ethical standpoint of the downsides of civilians being legally allowed to carry firearms. In this essay, the allowance of possession will be explored considering a fictional scenario situated in a more complex context, especially because it is not simply a matter of good versus bad, but understanding all the agents involved and the consequences of the uses of firearms. Then, an action will be proposed and analysed in this scenario, which is placed in a constantly changing context.
2. Scenario In order to analyse the disadvantages of legal permission to carry guns and the ethical issues involved, this investigation will be situated in a fictional scenario inserted in a wider context. The chosen scenario is a conversation in a Brazilian family about the safety of their children and whether it would be best for them to be allowed to carry guns or not. Two teenagers, a boy and a girl, and their parents constitute the above said family. The discussion starts after a lecture in school, where they talk about the proposal of the Firearms Control Statute, a policy proposal that intends to facilitate the access to firearms in Brazil. The boy decides to bring the subject to his parents, because he became interested in being able to carry a gun to protect himself after the lecture. The boy brings up the subject to his family stating that, if the project were approved, he would like to be able to carry a gun. Due to high violence rates and an inefficient police in Brazil, he believes that he should have the right to protect himself. He thinks if he had the knowledge on how to use guns, accidents would not happen. Also, he would feel safer, avoid being mugged, could help others against violence and that, if his sister would carry a firearm too, it would be safer for her to walk around alone. After hearing his arguments, his mother starts to counter argument, talking about how wrong it would be if everyone was able to carry a gun. How would our society be if everyone was able to do justice with his or her own hands? Who would be the judge of which situations they should fire a gun or not? What would be the reasons to physically injure or kill someone because of his or her actions? Who gives us the power to decide to end a life? Deciding these things by yourself becomes too arbitrary. Moreover, carrying a gun could provide a sense of ‘fake security’. Besides, if he is legally allowed to carry a gun, others can too. This could lead to more exposed violence or wanting to do ‘justice with their own hands’. In addition, the gun could end up in the hands of someone who does not know how to use it or is a criminal. Gun possession can increase the chances of hurting someone or/and approaching conflicts in a brutal way. To diminish and even extinguish violence, we should not respond with more violence. After some discussion, they could not agree on the matter.
3. Context This scenario is inserted in a system of wider context where many elements influence a standpoint. Nowadays, our world has become more complex and connected, which makes discussions far from being isolated. Concealed carry is not a simple matter of right or wrong because there are both benefits and consequences to both the mother and son’s opinion. For the purpose of this investigation, the focus will be on only some aspects that influence and are influenced by civilians carrying guns. Throughout history, guns have been associated with violence and the affirmation of power. The National Firearms Museum (2012) states that the first firearm was developed in 1350. Since then, guns have been used for personal protection, to enforce law, and to seek food. (National Firearms Museum, 2012) However, guns have also been used to attack and dominate others. According to philosopher Hannah Arendt (1970), there should be a distinction between power and violence. She states that power comes from what majority of people believe in, and violence comes from a minority. Violence is justifiable sometimes but not ever legitimated. Power is manifested by the agreement of many and, instead of violence, should be the basic element of a government. In many cases, firearms represent a form of power implemented through violence, because they may lead to such fatal outcomes. We live in a complex world. Our current society is surrounded by discussions about its management and maintenance. According to sociologist Zygmunt Bauman (2000), we live in liquid times, where nothing is permanent, everything is accelerated, and our society is in constant process of adaptation. Bauman states: “Fluids travel easily. They ‘flow’, ‘spill’, ‘run out’, ‘splash’, ‘pour over’, ‘leak’, ‘flood’, ‘spray’, ‘drip’, ‘seep’, ‘ooze’; unlike solids, they are not easily stopped – they pass around some obstacles, dissolve some others and bore or soak their way through others still. (…) These are reasons to consider ‘fluidity’ or ‘liquidity’ as fitting metaphors when we wish to grasp the nature of the present, in many ways novel, phase in the history of modernity.” (Bauman, 2000 p.2) This theory reflects on the constant changes that the present society has been through, where time and space are no longer solid and absolute, but instead ‘fluid’ and relative. These changes occurring especially because of technological developments and faster ways to communicate. We live in an ephemeral world, where politics, economy, social behaviour and other systems are incorporating new aspects to it and changing more rapidly, which means that analysing situations and taking ethical choices is not such a plain decision anymore. This relates to the scenario because bearing guns is a discussion with different layers and it is placed in a constantly changing context.
3.1. Legal In order to map out the conditions that influence the small-scale scenario built on item 2, some key elements were researched. The ethical standpoint that carrying guns is wrong has many more implications, but for the purpose of this investigation, legal and social elements affect the scenario more directly and those ones will be analysed.
In Brazil, where the family lives, the possession and the right to carry firearms became more difficult with the Disarmament Statute (2003). With this legislation, civilians are not allowed to carry guns around, and whoever wishes to own one needs to go through psychological and technical exams. They can only have guns at home or at work and are not able to carry them around. It also establishes an age requirement to own a gun, the prohibition of people with criminal record to acquire guns, and so on. To summarize, the Statute claims that people have to state the ‘need’ to have a gun, whether it is because of their profession, for being threatened, etc. (Disarmament Statute, 2003) The recent proposal of the legal project, Firearms Control Statute, would alter the Disarmament Statute (2003). It is in the process of approval, and if approved, it will change gun control laws in Brazil. According to G1 (2015), the project would facilitate the access to firearms by proposing the reduction of the minimum age to buy guns and allow people with criminal records to purchase guns. Additionally, politicians would be able arm themselves, and some of the bureaucracy involved would be simplified in order make gun trading easier. (G1, 2015) In disagreement with the Firearms Control Statute, figures show that there is a connection between strict gun control laws and a reduction in deaths per capita. According to the BBC Brazil (2015), The Violence Map of 2015, made by UNESCO, estimated that 160.036 people have been spared of being killed by firearms between 2004 and 2012 thanks to the Disarmament Statute (2003). (BBC Brazil, 2015) In addition, countries such as Australia, Japan and the UK have very strict gun control laws, and, as a result, their violence rates are low. In the UK, for example, according to the United Kingdom Home Office, it is illegal to sell guns or imitations of it for anyone under 18-years-old. One can own a gun if he or she applies for a licence, but this is a very complicated process. A person needs to explain his or her reasoning for wanting to possess a firearm, and if granted a license, needs to renew it every five years. Interestingly, most UK police officers are not allowed to carry guns. According to BBC (2012), only a small portion of British police is authorised to use firearms, around 5% of the total number in England and Wales. In addition, a survey in 2006 indicated that 82% of Police Federation members do not want officers to be armed. (BBC, 2012) This does not imply that the police are less efficient or that officers suffer more injures than countries with armed policing. Police officers are well trained to solve situations without extreme measures. For example, they try to use dialogue with people and use paralysing guns. By doing this, the police do not appear to be distant figures of superiority and power, but, instead, appear to maintain the population’s well-being. In contrast, USA shares different beliefs, because they have a strong gun culture. Each state has its own legislation concerning gun control, but, in most of them, it is legal to sell or carry firearms. The right to bear firearms is considered an individual freedom, stated in the Constitution’s Second Amendment (1791). Guns are considered a symbol of freedom, the right to protect themselves and their territory. Still, violence rates are higher in Brazil than in America. According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence (2015), the Gun Law State Scorecard of 2015 showed a clear relation between the states with stronger gun control and the smaller number of deaths by guns. (Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2015)
Figure 1: Common-sense gun policies work, by Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. (2015)
Figure 2: Weak laws, higher gun death rates, by Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. (2015)
However, a gun culture translates into more deaths by firearms. According to BBC Brazil (2015), the number of deaths by guns per capita in the USA in 2012 was almost 30 times bigger than in the UK. Moreover, from all the murders committed in America, 60% were by firearms, in comparison with only 10% in the UK. (BBC Brazil, 2015)
3.2. Social Now, let’s relate these facts back to the proposed family scenario. The boy argues that Brazil is a dangerous country, and its lack of safety is one of the reasons why he wants to carry a gun. A considerable amount of Brazilians share this belief, a belief brought on by an increase in urban violence, inefficient public security policies, low investments in security and infrastructure and a corruption among police officers. According to UNESCO (2015), The Violence Map of 2015 showed that 42.416 people died in 2012 from firearms in Brazil. Among those deaths, 59% were young people. This places Brazil as having the 11th highest mortality rate by firearms among 90 other countries. According to ‘Gazeta do Povo’ (2014), 63,96% of the Brazilian population rejected a 2005 national referendum that prohibited firearms trading. (Gazeta do Povo, 2014) However, the other considerable part of the population does not see the legal possession of guns as a solution, and they believe it would only increase violence. In addition, before the Disarmament Statute (2003), many domestic conflicts, sports related rivalry, bar fights and so on would be just enough of an excuse to use a gun. According to Professors Braman, Kahan, and Grimmelmann (2005) culture is prior to facts in resolving the gun debate. They state: “Culture is prior to facts in individual cognition. Through an overlapping set of psychological and social mechanisms, individuals adopt the factual beliefs that are dominant among persons who share their cultural orientations. (…) individuals simply won’t perceive any such consensus to exist so long as cultural conflict over the meaning of guns persists.” (Braman, Kahan, and Grimmelmann, 2005, p.285) Cultural issues shape the mentality of individuals, and, sometimes, it does not matter how much data a person has against a certain standpoint, he or she will be more affected by reality. For example, the right to carry guns in America has been legal for over 200 years, which makes the gun culture in America almost inherent, which makes it natural to have a gun at home.
4. Design-led action Considering the previous scenario and its context, it can be seen how legalizing guns affects many different aspects and has various downsides. Coming back to the proposed scenario, after the discussion and analysing the elements that influence this standpoint, the parents did not want their son to continue believing that he needed to carry a gun to feel safe. So, they became interested in bringing this discussion to their son’s school and putting it into action in order to show the complexity and downsides of legalizing firearms to civilians. The parents researched on how they could approach the matter, and they found one action that follows the contrary principal of the standpoint proposed— the ‘Wiki Weapon Project’. According to Forbes (2012), this open-source project aims to build the first firearm that can be downloaded from the internet and built using a 3D printer. This project uses technological advances in order to facilitate the access to guns, making people able to print their own guns at home, which would make their access much easier and would maybe lead to many more accidents involving guns. (Forbes, 2012)
They proposed to the school border a ‘weak gun control week’ simulator. They realized that people would value the act of carrying guns also because of the symbol of power and the sense of security a gun brings. Therefore, they proposed to create a loose gun control policy in the school, where the students would carry an object that would symbolize a weapon. After that, they would analyse the behaviour of the students and check the statistics of bullying, violence, fights, and abuse of power.
4.1. Consequences It is clear that the proposed scenario is a small scale, a family and a local school, but it also deals with education, which shapes the mentality of many people. By mapping out the possible implications of the proposed project, it could have positive outcomes, such as the students reaching a better understanding of the power and responsibility of carrying guns and the impacts of having a weak gun control for the maintenance of security. However, it could also have negative implications, and some students might feel more comfortable with a tool to protect themselves, even if it is in a violent way.
5. Conclusion We can conclude that carrying guns would not be an ethical solution to violence; on the contrary, it could generate even more violence, especially in Brazil, which figures show high violence rates. Thus, the possession of gun by civilians should be reconsidered. Moreover, it was possible to conclude that a stronger and efficient gun control can save more lives. However, it is not only about making laws but also about working on the role of infrastructure in public security and both identifying and trying to diminish the feeling of insecurity that would lead a person to thinking he or she needs a gun for protection. Public security is a governmental duty. It should manifest itself by the action of police, and although the government shows inefficiency, it is important to demand the rights and follow the Constitution. It is necessary to invest in the police by giving them proper training. The discussion of possession of guns is complex, and it affects many elements. From the small scale of the family-school scenario, it was possible to conclude that information and education about guns is necessary and that, by education, it is possible to change the mentality of people and perhaps diminish this gun culture, and, by extension, violence. Security is a right of every citizen and through the demand of efficiency to the responsible for its maintenance and the disarmament of population, the ways for violence to manifest itself would be diminished.
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Images Figure 1: Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2015. Common-sense gun policies work. [Image online] Available at: http://gunlawscorecard.org/. [Accessed 05 January 2016]. Figure 2: Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2015. Weak laws, higher gun death rates. [Image online] Available at: http://gunlawscorecard.org/. [Accessed 05 January 2016].