justice guns sep09
TRANSCRIPT
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Jack Turner
CONF 502
Professor AlpherSeptember 21, 2009
Guns in the hands of decent, law abiding citizens is a good thing. In my
opinion, you cant have too many kindsof those guns. Virginia CitizensDefense League Member Phillip Van
Cleave ((Kunkle, Craig, 2007).
Every man must decide whether hewill walk in the light of creative altruism
or in the darkness of destructiveselfishness. Martin Luther King, jr.
(1963).
Justice and Gun Control: You Cant Have It Both Ways, But We Do
On June 10, 2009 James Von Brunn walks into the Holocaust Museum in
Washington DC and fatally wounds an African-American guard with a .22 caliber rifle.
He subsequently is wounded by other museum guards and currently sits in jail waiting for
a mental competency exam (Wilber, 2009). Three months later, Delonte West, a local
Washington DC area resident and guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers, is stopped for a
traffic violation and arrested for carrying two concealed, loaded handguns ( a Berretta
9mm and a .357 Magnum) (Zapotosky, 2009). While Von Brunns behavior is described
by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Waid as a suicide mission, Wests father says that
his son has been looking behind his back and protecting himself from certain
individuals (Wilber, 2009). Both mens actions are tied together by perceptions of justice
and our nations gun control laws. Interesting opening
This essay argues that beliefs about justice and gun ownership is a deeply
personal issue in this country, and that individual perceptions of what is just and unjust
about gun control is based mostly on personal experience. As reported by the Journal of
the American Medical Association in 1996, the problem is that one political side thinks
more controls on gun sales is needed to reduce crime and violence, while the other
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political side believes less restriction is needed (Blendon, Young, & Hemenway). This
essay focuses on individual beliefs and values pertaining to justice and guns in the United
States because the authors research has found no other more consistent factor regarding
gun control in our population.
Extensive research by journalist David Krajicek shows almost equally divided
opinions and beliefs about the influence of guns and gun control on crime, homicide, and
suicide. Some studies suggest that people who watch crime shows regularly tend to
advocate less control of gun buying and ownership because they think guns are necessary
for self-protection against criminal violations and assault. Other studies indicate a
preference for more gun control by people who read the daily news instead of watching it
on television (2003).
In the academic world, from sociologists and criminologists to political science
and public health researchers, opinions about gun control and its affects are also divided
This trend may indicate that personal experience with guns and gun violence, including
media exposure, is the primary foundation for beliefs about gun control.. It appears that
even scholars are not immune to emotional reactions when it applies to figuring out the
fairness of gun laws and interpreting second amendment rights (Krajicek, 2003). Good
points heregood place to tie it into basic human needs, even us dry scholars arent
immune to feelings of security lost
Cultural perspective is also a factor to consider. Geert Hofstede has described
American culture as individualistic, as compared to other cultures, such as the Japanese,
who are collective in nature for future papers (since this was before the culture and
identity readings), be cautious here when characterizing an entire people by a dynamic
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like this while theres real power in it, theres also an opening for counter-argument
attack. From Hofstedes viewpoint, Americans dichotomous relationship to guns may
result from our belief in, and valuing of, individual freedom and identity more than the
collective values of group identity and cohesion (1980). As a people, we are concerned
and respectful of individual choice: We may have a tolerance for a certain amount of
extremely destructive personal choices because of this preference. Theres a point to
bring in critical theory of Burton that definitions of security as a need may not be
what we immediately assume them to be. Security of an individualist self-conception
tends to trump physical security here
On April 16, 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, a Virginia Tech student, chained the doors to
a classroom building and systematically began taking the lives of faculty members and
Virginia Tech students. He killed 32 people and himself (Hauser, C (2007). His actions
brought great grief and distress to 32 families of slain victims and great shame and
confusion to his own family. According to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act'
of 1993, Seung-Huis psychiatric diagnosis in 2005 should have prevented his ability to
purchase any firearms (Library of Congress, 1993).
In a strange twist, a Virginia Tech student group that advocates the right to carry a
concealed weapon on campus invited Eric Thompson, the gun dealer who sold one gun to
Seung-Hui, to speak on campus. Thompson also sold two guns toSteven Kazmierczak,who killed five people at Northern Illinois University on February 14, 2008. The event
was kept quiet out of respect for the Virginia Tech victims, but the message from the gun
dealer was clear: Even though all people should not be allowed to own guns, prohibiting
peoples desire to protect themselves is wrong (Smith, L, 2008). Good pointsright
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now, hanging out there on their own make sure you provide a bridge between the
previous section and this to show how and why youre headed here
VA Tech students organized a lie-in protest for stricter gun control laws, on
April 16, 2008. An equal number of the people killed, 32, laid down on the campus in
commemoration for the dead. The lie also supported changing the gun show loophole
law that allows gun sales at gun shows without the Brady Bill criminal background check
(Esposito, 2008).
People talking about [lie-ins] are talking a lot about these victims' families
themselves" - Abigail Spangler, founder ofProtestEasyGuns.com(Esposito,
2008).
"If just one of those [VA Tech] students had been armed in that building, there
would have been a much better chance that somebody would have stopped the
madman."- Phillip Van Cleave, Virginia Citizens Defense League.
It appears that extreme emotions drive opinions about gun control. Good point, and a
place to add in that concepts of justice cannot truly be divorced from emotiontheres no such
thing as pure justice, etc thats where it seems youre goingWhen someone you love is
killed in a calculated act of extreme gun violence, the way you deal with the loss and pain
probably defines your political stance. Your perception of just resolutions regarding gun
violence and the fairness laws to protect the innocent will be affected as well. At the
same time, gun control critics worry that their ability to defend themselves, their families,
and their homes against criminal aggression is already being overly restricted. The ebb
and flow of public opinion, the focus of the media, and political decisions by societal
http://protesteasyguns.com/http://protesteasyguns.com/ -
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leaders will determine what steps our system of justice takes. Another take on social
identity/ social constructionism
The justice or injustice of gun control is perceived emotionally by those who have
experience with gun violence and those who deplore government involvement in their
right to self protection. From Richard Rubensteins perspective, the perceived
legitimacy and acceptance of our legal depends on how reasonable and usefulit is to
people seeking justice. In this respect, the gun control debate is about how well our laws
can satisfy peoples needs for security and freedom simultaneously (2008). Lead this into
a further, completing pointwhat is it youd say about how we weigh justice based on
the needs of the many as opposed to the rights of the few? Or would you put that the
other way around? Take the debate and run with it in your own argument
While the usefulness of our legal system is debated into infinity, individuals and
groups on both sides of the issue would do well to think about working together on
personal and community protection without the use of guns. We can teach our children
and family members how to be street smart about potential attackers and to learn
escape tactics in dangerous situations. Neighborhood Watch groups can give us more
control over crime risks in our communities and help us sleep easier at night. The best
justice, for all of us, may be the prevention of violent crimes before they happen by
acting with individual responsibility toward each other.
B+ I like that youve gone a different direction here and addressed the
question in this way. You have some very good pointstie them back into the readings
and strengthen your argumentsmove this forward out of a discussion of the
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instrumental nature of the argument and into a way of integrating it, synthesizing it, your
thoughts on whats more important, what trumps what, how do we find a way through all
that and define what the path SHOULD be? Youre entirely correct that perceptions of
justice are massively swayed by behavior and personal experience does that mean that
the entire system is faulty because it assumes a perfect state of justice where there
really can be none? If this is the argument, then it brings the whole question of justice
into serious need of redefinitionwhich is great, but needs to be defended and new
directions and language suggested
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References
Blendon, R J, Young , J T, Hemenway, D (1996)The American Public and the GunControl Debate.Journal of the American Medical Association, 275(22):1719-1722.
Esposito, G (2008). Tech gun protest delayed 2 hours. The Roanoke Times, April 15,
2008. Retrieved fromhttp://www.roanoke.com/vtcampus/wb/158222 on
September 19, 2009.
Hauser, C (2007). Virginia Gunman Identified as Student. The New York Times, April 17,
2009. Retrieved fromhttp://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/v/virginia_polytechnic_instit
ute_and_state_university/index.html on Sept 18, 2009.
Hofstede, G (1980). Cultures consequences, international differences in work-related
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King, M L (1963). A Letter from Birmingham Jail.Ebony, AUG, 1963, 23-32. Retrieved
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Krajicek, D J (2003). Guns and Gun Control. Covering Crime and Justice, Criminal
Justice Journalists (ed.). Retrieved fromhttp://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/intro.html on September 18, 2009.
Kunkle, F, Craig T (2007). At Gun Raffle, A Reminder Of Va.Tech: Firearms Worn andProtested at Event Attended by Hundreds. The Washington Post, May 18, 2007.
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Rubenstein, R (2008). Institutions. Conflict, 2ndedition. Cheldelein, S, Druckman, D,
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Smith, L (2008). Gun Dealer Speaks at VA Tech: Man Who Sold Guns To Two CampusShooters Gives Talk. Campus Activities. April 27, 2008.Retrieved from
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Wilber. (2009). Museum Shooting Planned, Officials Say. The Washington Post, Sept 3,2009.http://www. http:// washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2009/09/02/AR2009090200987.html
Zapotosky, M (2009). Cavaliers Guard Arrested in Md. The Washington Post. Sept 19,2009, D1.