How does that research normalize for the equally plausible explanation that aggressive people who are more likely to escalate interactions are more likely to purchase firearms because firearm ownership plays into their violent ideation? (It’s pretty hard to design a prospective study, and even harder to design an ethical one!) I mean this as a serious question: I am uninformed, not JAQing off and trying to discredit the research. The culture of violence is surely a serious problem, but it’s not clear to me which comes first, the violent behaviour or the firearm.
I’ll concede the point that the fantasy of using a firearm in self-defense is just that, a fantasy - it’s strongly supported by the available evidence. (Then again, I never argued otherwise.)
In any case, it’s probably a mark of my privilege that most of the firearm owners I know fall into the categories of, “occasionally either harvest a critter for food, or need to get rid of vermin”, and “have a job that may require armed response,” rather than “have some sort of violent fantasy of self-defense.” (I know more forest rangers than I do city cops - and while the rangers are armed LEO’s, their culture is very different.)
I’ll stick to my argument that gun violence is a serious public health problem that needs an evidence-based approach. Current public policy seems to revolve around suppressing relevant evidence. At first blush, it seems unlikely that a policy of broad prohibition would be any more effective against firearms than it was against alcohol. On the other extreme, state laws that, for example, forbid pediatricians from counselling parents about gun safety are reprehensible!
Personal status: I sold my 12-ga when I moved from New Hampshire to New York City in 1977. Never replaced it. So, not a current firearm owner, but not a ‘reformed sinner,’ either. Guns are tools that I don’t have a current use for. I made sure when my daughter was growing up that she got out to a range and learnt the basics, partly because firearms are so ubiquitous that knowing how to handle one safely may prove to be a survival skill. Consider this to be a strategy of ‘harm reduction.’
