A Stranger with a Gun

For many people gun ownership has become an unmovable article of faith

By: Andrew L. Goddard

Having been a gun violence prevention advocate for the last 17 years, I have listened to a huge amount of testimony and rhetoric from gun rights activists in committee meetings, town halls, and rallies. Over the years it has become very clear to me that there are a number of root philosophical differences between the ardent supporters of gun rights and those of us that want to try and reduce gun violence in our country.

I have spent many long hours pondering why we can’t seem to meet eye to eye, and I almost always find myself thinking about a stranger with a gun and our different reactions to that concept.

It seems from survey data that the proportion of gun owners that cite self defense as the primary motive for gun ownership has risen to dominate the field of justifiable reasons for gun ownership. Why is this? I think the most obvious reason is that many gun owners are keenly aware of the rise in gun crime, which they see as increasing their vulnerability and thus strengthening their resolve to exercise their “God given right” to self defense with a gun. 

It is telling that they cite God as a supporter of armed self defense, because for many people gun ownership has become a form of religious belief. 

Like most established religions, followers are convinced to accept the tenets of that faith completely and without question — even when the evidence of their own eyes and minds indicate that there is little or no actual evidence to support those tenets. If you believe that having a gun at your side at all times will make you safer from attack, then there can be no evidence, data, or logical argument that can sway you from that article of faith. In fact, any attempt to throw doubt on the concept of the security that gun ownership offers is seen as heretical and an unfounded attack on their faith.

So, what lies beneath that concept? Any species that wishes to survive dangers will be most successful if they develop deeply rooted, possibly genetic reactions to danger.  For gun owners, this reaction seems to be based on the fear of being shot by what I call a “stranger with a gun.” 

Put aside for a moment the fact that the highest number of gun deaths are from suicide, where the “stranger” is none other than the gun owner themselves; and put aside that fact that another large proportion of gun deaths are caused by intimate partners, friends, workmates, or other types of non-stranger. In the mind of many gun owners it is the sudden appearance of a stranger intent on shooting them, robbing them, or harming their loved ones that drives their single-minded faith in the power and effectiveness of a defensive gun. 

Given that firmly rooted belief, it is necessary for them to want to have almost instant access to a gun at all times of the day and night and in all places where they live, work, or play. Any regulation that limits that availability by time, place, or type of gun is therefore seen as a direct attack on their ability to defend themselves and those they love. 

It is this fear of encountering a stranger with a gun that drives them to advocate for lax gun laws and the removal of what they fear are “gun free zones” — envisioned as places where they are not allowed to defend themselves and are sitting ducks for the stranger with a gun.

What these gun zealots refuse to understand is that the proliferation of civilian-owned guns is a major factor in the increased risk of gun violence, which in turn drives their perceived need for even greater reliance on the availably of a defensive gun. 

What they refuse to accept, or even recognize, is that the majority of people who do not own guns, and even some less zealous gun owners, also share the fear of a stranger with a gun. The problem arises in that nobody is able to differentiate between a law-abiding gun owner carrying their weapon in public for self defense, and an individual who is carrying a gun for illegal purposes.

Watching old western movies, it was always easy to differentiate the “good guys” from the “bad guys” because the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black ones. In today’s society there is no such obvious clue as to a person’s character or intent. In fact, the whole idea that there are only two types of people, either good or bad, is a very simplistic concept, as there exists a whole spectrum of people who fall somewhere in between those two absolutes. 

To most people, everyone with a gun is a stranger with a gun, to be feared and avoided. When gun zealots exercise their Second Amendment right to meet in numbers while carrying a huge arsenal of powerful weaponry, this simply reinforces the fear in the majority of people that all gun owners pose as serious a danger to their survival as the danger from criminals with guns.

For too long, legislators have been heavily influenced by certain groups with a vested interest in increasing gun usage, and thus gun sales. That has resulted in our laws being weighted to support the needs of the most ardent gun supporters at the expense of the lives and health of the rest of the population.

We need to recognize this imbalance as the tyranny of the few over the many, and take meaningful steps to change the balance of our laws to favor the survival of the many over the wishes of the few. 

Until we can convince the average American that steps can be taken to reduce the illegal traffic and use of guns, without eliminating the use of guns for legitimate purposes like hunting or shooting sports, this imbalance will continue.

Often, zealous gun owners will insist that their concern over encountering a stranger with a gun is totally understandable and justified, thus laws should be tailored to their needs. However, the fear from non-owners of that same stranger with a gun is irrational and unjustified, thus their requests for stronger regulations must be ignored.

When each horrific mass shooting occurs, the most obvious reaction is that more and more people, who never previously chose to own a gun, become convinced to go out and buy one. This is great for the gun industry, but a terrible idea for public safety.  This reaction creates a self-perpetuating escalation in gun ownership which inevitably increases the probability of guns being misused, and causes the inexorable rise in the already unacceptable body count from gun deaths.

Earlier in this article, I asked you to set aside the facts about the realities of gun violence in order to explain what I see as the fear of a stranger with a gun from the perspective of some gun owners. It is these very facts though that hold the key to changing what may appear to be a dark future. 

As gun violence prevention advocates, we must counter the firehose of falsehood that feeds the belief that our survival rests on increased gun ownership with facts, derived from actual research, that show the realities of gun violence and what can be done to reduce it. 

The fear of a stranger with a gun is real for everyone, but we cannot allow the selfish reaction of the most ardent gun supporters to overcome our efforts to remake our society so that the generations that follow us are not plagued by gun violence.

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Andrew L. Goddard is Legislative Director for the Virginia Center for Public Safety, the oldest GVP group in Virginia, formed 30 years ago.

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