J Turner 1

Jack Turner
CONF 502
Professor Alpher
September 21, 2009

“Guns in the hands of decent, law –
abiding citizens is a good thing. In my
opinion, you can’t have too many kinds
of those guns.” – Virginia Citizens
Defense League Member Phillip Van
Cleave ((Kunkle, Craig, 2007).
“Every man must decide whether he
will walk in the light of creative altruism
or in the darkness of destructive
selfishness.” – Martin Luther King, jr.
(1963).

Justice and Gun Control: You Can’t 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 Brunn’s behavior is described

by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Waid as a “suicide mission,” West’s father says that

his son has been “looking behind his back and protecting himself” from certain

individuals (Wilber, 2009). Both men’s actions are tied together by perceptions of justice

and our nation’s 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 author’s 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 here—good place to tie it into basic human needs, even us dry scholars aren’t

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 there’s real power in it, there’s also an opening for counter-argument

attack…. From Hofstede’s 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. There’s 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-Hui’s 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 to Steven 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

people’s desire to protect themselves is wrong” (Smith, L, 2008). Good points—right

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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 you’re 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 of ProtestEasyGuns.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 emotion—there’s no such

thing as “pure” justice, etc… that’s where it seems you’re going When 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
 J Turner 5

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 Rubenstein’s perspective, the perceived

legitimacy and acceptance of our legal depends on how reasonable and useful it is to

people seeking justice. In this respect, the gun control debate is about how well our laws

can satisfy people’s needs for security and freedom simultaneously (2008). Lead this into

a further, completing point—what is it you’d 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 you’ve gone a different direction here and addressed the

question in this way. You have some very good points—tie them back into the readings

and strengthen your arguments—move 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 what’s more important, what trumps what, how do we find a way through all

that and define what the path SHOULD be? You’re 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 redefinition—which 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 Gun
Control 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 from http://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 from
http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/organizations/v/virginia_polytechnic_instit
ute_and_state_university/index.html on Sept 18, 2009.

Hofstede, G (1980). Culture’s consequences, international differences in work-related

values. Sage Publications. Beverly Hills, Calif

King, M L (1963). A Letter from Birmingham Jail. Ebony, AUG, 1963, 23-32. Retrieved
from http://books.google.com/books?id=y8rupo6QVekC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq
=%22A+Letter+from+Jail%22+and+martin+luther+king&source=bl&ots=vW2Zp42kB-
&sig=8XNzC3y- dUw6MC3TDdN_gnS89Jk&hl=en&ei=N3e3SouLBI6b8Qaz3qWTD
&sa =X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6#v=onepage&q=%22A%20Letter
%20from%20Jail%22%20and%20martin%20luther%20king&f=true on September 19,
2009.

Krajicek, D J (2003). Guns and Gun Control. Covering Crime and Justice, Criminal
Justice Journalists (ed.). Retrieved from
http://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 and
Protested at Event Attended by Hundreds. The Washington Post, May 18, 2007.
Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2007/05/17/AR2007051701386.html?nav=emailpage on Sept 18,
2009.

Library of Congress (1993). `Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act' of 1993. Retrieved from
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c103:1:./temp/~c103JK0kNO:e0 on Sept 19, 2009
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Rubenstein, R (2008). Institutions. Conflict, 2nd edition. Cheldelein, S, Druckman, D,

Fast, L (Ed.). Continuum, New York. 202.

Smith, L (2008). Gun Dealer Speaks at VA Tech: Man Who Sold Guns To Two Campus
Shooters Gives Talk. Campus Activities. April 27, 2008.Retrieved from
http://campusactivities.suite101.com/article.cfm/gun_dealer_speaks_at_va_tech on
Sept 19, 2009.

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.