Gun culture and gun sanity in Pistorius' South Africa
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Gun culture and gun sanity in Pistorius' South Africa
I'm not going to weigh in on the more lurid aspects of the murder allegedly committed by Olympic "bladerunner" Oscar Pistorius -- it's obviously a horrific tragedy and condolences go out to the family and loved ones of the victim, Reeva Steenkam.
But look, obviously folks are going to look at such a high-profile international murder on the context of the debate that we're having here in the United States over legislation to reduce the gun violence that is epidemic here.
Because advocates for gun sanity frequently make the argument -- especially after a mass killing like the Sandy Hook Elementary School -- that the gun problem is a uniquely American one. And so anytime we see violence committed by a gun somwhere else, the folks who like to call themselves "gun rights advocates" will say something along the lines of...see. If it happens in South Africa, or Norway or wherever, so that's proof that gun control doesn't work anywhere.
So here's three relevant things:
1) Just for background, Oscar Pistorius is a man who loves his guns:
Pistorius enjoyed target shooting with his pistol and an online advertisement featuring him for Nike read: "I am a bullet in the chamber." An article in January 2012 in The New York Times Magazine described him talking about how he pulled a pistol to search his home when his alarm went off the night before an interview. At Pistorius' suggestion, he and the journalist went to a nearby target range where they fired at targets with a 9 mm pistol. At one point, Pistorius told the writer: "If you practiced, I think you could be pretty deadly."
Asked how often he went target shooting, Pistorius replied: "Just sometimes when I can't sleep."
2) Like the United States, South Africa is a nation that has had a tortured history with race. Like the United States, South Africa has a "gun culture."
By some estimates, up to six million South African civilians own guns – about 12 per cent of the population. Many of those weapons are illegally owned. And of the legal guns, most are justified as a tool for self-defence.
It’s true that South Africa has a high rate of violent crime. But the fear of crime can verge into paranoia. Weapons are everywhere, and each gun justifies another gun.
South African airports and casinos have prominent signs directing people to storage rooms to deposit their weapons. Criminals assume that their victims have guns. When they break into a house, their first step is to search for the owner’s gun.
Guns are widely used in the most common crimes here: they are used in 77 per cent of house robberies and 87 per cent of business robberies, and they are the cause of death in more than half of all murders, reports say.
3) So if South Africa is such a violent place, why don't they pass laws to prevent gun violence.
In fact, South Africa might provide some of the strongest evidence that gun control can make a difference. Tougher limits on gun ownership took effect in 2004, and since then the number of gun-related crimes has dropped by 21 per cent.
And this decrease is not merely because of a general decline in crime in South Africa. One study of female victims, by the country’s Medical Research Council, found that gun-related deaths had dropped by nearly half from 1999 to 2009, while other causes of violent death were virtually unchanged.
That's interesting, isn't it? In 2004, the very year that America allowed the ban on assault weapons to lapse, South Africa passed a gun-sanity measure that has been very successful. There is no reason why we cannot emulate them. None.
Just like in the United States, there are still millions of guns in circulation in South Africa. Gun-violence laws won't stop every gun murder there...and they won't here. But while you're reading today about the death of Reeva Steenkan, remember this: There are hundreds of South Africans whose names did not make the newspaper, because they were NOT killed by a gun. Because South Africa's political leaders did something...and saved lives.
They did it. We can do this.
Oh, and one more thing. Don't go looking for that Nike "I am a bullet in the chamber" ad. They pulled it this morning.
Is 'gun-sanity' the new Media Matters catch-phrase?— sadim- Good one. All the new fringe radical liberal groups want to strip the Bill of Rights, one Amendment at a time.
Soon enough, the 1st Amendment will be under attack too.— Professor1982 - So just be clear.
You are OK with the murder part, but you have a problem with the gun.
If I didn't know any better I would say your near daily piece on guns has nothing to do with reducing violence and more to do with you keeping people from owning something because you don't think they should.— barlowjames1 - Liberals aren't interested in gun violence at all. This is all about perpetuating crisis after crisis to fuel the politics of "DO SOMETHING!". The supposedly rational left ironically gets all their power through reactionary emotionalism. (I don't know if reactionary emotionalism is even a real term, but it's better that gun-sanity)— jmc
- @JMC - That's the Obama way...except when it comes to the assassination of an Ambassador, the Economy and Jobs....
He could care less about those crisis.— Professor1982 
Will obviously does not care that that S. Africa is ranked 2nd in murders and 1st in rape worldwide. So by Will and the left's logic, the gun made these criminals do the crime. How about we get to the meat and potatoes of the issue. The left hates guns and the people that own them. They won't go after and jail the criminals that could care less about these "new and improved" gun laws. It's easier for them to get a gun on the streets illegally. It's funny how those issues aren't addressed. They won't even entertain a discussion about that commonsense topic. Commonsense... is not a word I would associate with the left.- I guess "murder rate" only counts particular killings huh ? or are you ignoring that South Africa is considered the most dangerous place in the world huh ?— Iknowyourider
A responsible paper would give the reader columnists with an opposing view on issues (this is not necessarily pro or anti gun here). In that manner, the paper allows the reader to form his or her opinion on a subject. But this paper and every other large urban US paper contain only one opinion, the progressive left. It's a play out of the old Soviet playbook, Uncle Lenin would have been so proud. For over 20 years now, the progressive left has taken over this paper and the Inky. Which should be no coincidence in that this paper teeters again near bankruptcy and lost readership during this timeframe. Only in your own swanky cocktail gatherings will you have an audience of your like minded peers. But here you will not. You and your kind never had respect for the majority of working Americans, hence story after story attacking the foundation of our land. And that, Mr Bunch, will be the chief reason you and the people like you will soon be experiencing Mr Obama's 99 week unemployment plan. Enjoy.- NOT ONE THING THAT OBAMA OR BIDEN OR ANYONE HAS PROPSED WOULD STOP WHAT TOOK PLACE IN THESE MASS KILLINGS.AS FAR HAS THE KILLING IN PHILA. STOP THE P.C. AND ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS 1 WHO DOING THE KILLING 2 WHERE IS IT GOING ON.3 WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN 4 WHY DOES IT GO ON— psdarkside
"So by Will and the left's logic, the gun made these criminals do the crime." . . . . . . You've got a point. After all, that was the same logic Bush used when we invaded Iraq to enforce UN "gun control".- This article makes no sense. How is it weapons are everywhere when only 12% of the population owns firearms in South Africa?
Only a gun banner would say that. To a gun banner, one person owning a firearm means guns are everywhere.— kingnutter - From my cold dead hands!
When the Constitution changes to ban guns, then and only then would I consider giving up my guns. I probably would just hide them from the authorities.— Sportyrider71 - Did I read correctly that Will Bunch made a parallel of the history of racism in the U.S.A. and South Africa? I didn't know we had Apartheid in the U.S.A. Did we?— DonQ
- Gun violence goes up and down with employment, the more people have free time and less money, they kill. The world is flat.— Fisher
- Pistorius is trying to claim that he shot her in self defense, but he doesn't have a leg to stand on.— Mr. Smith
- Andrew Sullivan
- Blinq
- Blogorrhea
- Blonde Sagacity
- Free Republic
- Instapundit
- James Taranto
- ScrappleFace
- The Corner
- Buzzmachine
- Eat the Press
- Editor and Publisher
- Media (Huffington Post)
- Media Bloodhound
- Mickey Kaus
- Pressthink
- Romenesko
- The Inksniffer
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- Above Average Jane
- BlankBaby
- Citizen Mom
- Keystone Blog
- Metroblogging Philadelphia
- Phawker
- Philadelphia - America's Hometown
- Philadelphia Will Do
- Philebrity
- Philly Future
- Phillyblog
- Phillyist
- The Clog
- The Next Mayor
- Welcome to Phillyville
- Young Philly Politics
- Afro-Netizen
- All-Spin Zone
- Atrios
- Bad Attitudes
- Billmon
- Booman Tribune
- CorrenteWire
- Fables of the Reconstruction
- iFlipFlop
- Kiko's House
- MyDD
- Philly (Dragonballyee)
- Rowhouse Logic
- Slacktivist
- Suburban Guerilla
- Tattered Coat
- upyernoz
- AmericaBlog
- Andy Borowitz
- BuzzFlash
- Crooks and Liars
- Cursor
- Daily Kos
- David Sirota
- Drudge Report
- Echidne of the Snakes
- Fire Dog Lake
- Glenn Greenwald
- Hullabaloo
- Jesus' General
- Jon Swift
- Josh Marshall
- Juan Cole
- Kevin Drum
- Mad Kane
- Majikthise
- Matthew Yglesias
- Oliver Willis
- Raw Story
- Swing State Project
- Talk Left
- Taylor Marsh
- TBogg
- The Carpetbagger Report
- Think Progress
- War and Piece
- Wonkette
- A Citizen's Blog
- Balls, Sticks and Stuff
- Beer Leaguer
- Dick Polman
- Phillies Nation
- Philling Station
- Shallow Center
- The 700 Level
- The Good Phight
