Friday, July 17, 2009

Almost Too Dumb To Be Fascist ::: Thomas Kostigen's Ethics Monitor: Cost of small arms may be too expensive

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- The biggest importer of small arms in the world isn't a rogue or war-torn nation. It's us, the United States.

According to a report out this month, we are the largest exporter of small arms too, making America the largest small-arms dealer in the world.

The annual Small Arms Survey says the U.S. "continues to drive the global small-arms trade, remaining the largest importer of pistols and revolvers, sporting shotguns and small-caliber ammunition." Indeed, greater demand for small arms in the United States was responsible for 48% of the worldwide increase in imports from 2000 to 2006.

We aren't talking about tanks or missiles here. This isn't about national defense or our military, which by far is the largest in the world, let's not forget. This is about the right to bear arms -- you, me, our neighbors.

The Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, which produces the annual survey says, "Firearms are also important contributors to crime and societal violence. They are used in 40% of homicides worldwide. The prevalence of small-arms misuse, both in conflict and crime, is leading analysts to examine the economic costs of gun violence, in an effort to assess the cost-effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce it."

In other words, small-arms take a tremendous toll on society. Intervention and all-out prevention can mitigate that loss.

To be sure, there are many defenders of people's right to bear arms, most notably the National Rifle Association. The NRA holds itself out as "America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights."

But what happens when bearing arms actually begins to cost society more than the "right" to bear arms? An overarching societal decision needs to be made about what is the country's -- as in we the people's -- best interest? If drugs, crime and healthcare are promulgated by gun use, shouldn't the hard costs of gun ownership be considered?

The more than $4 billion small-arms market has grown 28% over the past decade, with the largest increase in pistol and revolver sales. That means individuals are stocking up.

Some observers says it's because of the recession and the fears that it brings that is putting more guns into the hands of people. When people get scared no matter what the form apparently, they resort to self-defense tactics. The easier form of that is to buy a gun.

Keith Krause, the program director for the Small Arms survey says, "Current data shows that the global trade in small arms and light weapons is robust and even expanding, and that handguns are driving it."

It's interesting that a society such as ours that is domestically conflict free is driving the market for small weapons.

We systematically analyze the costs of war. It's time we analyzed the costs of gun ownership in this country.
Freedom ain't free, baby.

So far there are over 200 comments at the source. Should be fun...
Thomas Kostigen's Ethics Monitor: Cost of small arms may be too expensive - MarketWatch

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