David Byrne: Gun Control Doesn’t Need to Be ‘All or Nothing’
David Byrne wrote a lengthy piece on gun control in the United States on his website. He clarified that gun control doesn’t necessitate wiping the Second Amendment. “It’s not about taking away everyone’s guns,” Byrne wrote. “It needn’t be all or nothing, in other words.”
Byrne called America a “war zone,” noting that more people are victims of gun violence in Chicago than American soldiers in Afghanistan. He notes how many people outside the country look at the U.S. as “savages” for the lack of strict bans on assault weapons, bans that exist in both developed and underdeveloped countries. But he cites Austria and its hunting culture as an example of a middle path. Byrne believes that homes can still own rifles and shotguns, but that gun violence can be significantly reduced.
Byrne said that the same health requirements and inspections required of drivers to own and maintain their car and license should be the same for gun owners. “Reframing the issue as a public healthy issue — as well as an issue of our right, and our freedom, to live without a constant threat of violence — is the way to go in convincing our lawmakers, and more crucially our neighbors and our nation, to act on this issue,” he said.
“We have countered these arguments before, from slavery to seat belts to smoking, and we can do it again. We’re better than this.”
Watch 7 things that are harder to get than an assault rifle.