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Role
of Cultural
Attitudes i1
Violence
illegally to obtain various
deadly weapons to protect
themselves. Organized crime
and unscrupulous dealers
are ready to cater to any
illicit demand.
S
trict gun-control laws
alone will not greatly
reduce violen! crime rates in
nations plagued by them.
The greatest determinants
of whether or not a society
will be plagued by violen!
crime are its social and
cultural altitudes and
crime-deterring institutions.
experience high armed
crime and homicide rates.
The level of violen! crime
and the weapons used
varíes significantly among
different nations, regions
and ethnic groups. The type
of weapon and situations
where they are used have
strong relevance to the
altitudes and traditions of
individual peoples or regions
in coping with problems.
an attack on admirable
qualities in American
lile.
lf snub-nosed pistols and
revolvers are banned,
long-barreled weapons will
be cut down- and they are
even more deadly
substitutes.
The United States has a
high gun-possession rate
and also a high gun-crime
rate. But there are nations
that, per capita, have even
higher gun-possession rates
among citizenry–
Switzerland and Israel, for
example. Yet these nations
experience low gun-related
citizen crime compared to
the United States. There are
nations with extremely strict
gun-possession laws- such
as Mexico and other Latín
American nations-that
The Second Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution
allows American citizenry
possession of firearms.
From its beginning the U.S.
developed a strong tradition
of man and boy with gun
associated with patriotism,
self-reliance, manly skills
and defense of home and
country. Strict gun controls
strike many Americans who
identify with this tradition as
Many foreigners, however,
look on in amazement at
U.S. infatuation and
glorification of guns.
American folklore, television,
movies and novels idolize
both heroes and villains who
reduce problems to the
simple " solution" of blazing
guns. Yet nations
everywhere take pride in
their own traditions of
violence.
Many crimes of violence
do not involve guns, but
fists, blunt instruments or
knives. Eliminating guns
without eliminating the
altitudes that cause crime
and violence and without
providing strong deterrents
by swift-moving justice,
would mean many would try
11 domestic gun
production is halted,
smuggling will begin, and
anyone famil iar with a lathe
or a few handyman tools
can make a serviceable
weapon.
Only the reestablishment
of the government of God
over the earth will force
mankind to tace repentance
and turn from the violen!
ways that now afflict society.
lt will take that kind of force
befare the majority learn to
live in peace and service to
fellowman.
laws forcing registration of weap–
ons or ammunition, open t he door
for eventual government confisca–
tion of arms. From guns they
derive personal pleasure i n hunting
and tar get shooting, or depend
upon t hem for sel f-defense of thei r
lives and property.
M any in this latter group believe
an armed populace is t he only way
ci t i zens can deter crime and gov–
ernment tyranny. They i nsist t he
Second Amendment guarantees all
noncr iminal cit i zens a r ight to keep
and bear arms. And they bel ieve
stri ct gun-control laws are not only
unenforceable wi thou t stepping on
other constitutional r ights, but
such laws do not deter criminals
who don' t obey laws.
Sorne, of course, take positions
somewhere between extreme views
on either side in t he gun-control
debate. Many feel only handguns,
because t hey are so conceal able and
deadl y, must be str ictly cont rolled,
but not long guns. T he way people
feel about gun control depends upon
thei r
confidence
in human govern–
ment and in government's abil i ty to
control crime and violence.
Y et the i ssues that have pro-
32
duced t he gun-con trol debate–
soar i ng crime and lack of confi–
dence in government- are the very
issues almost no one is facing or
provid ing solutions to.
O f course not! For most persons
do not understand t he root cause of
criminal and violent human behav–
ior. And what must be done to de–
ter cr iminal and inju rious human
behavior.
l t ' s What 's Behlnd the Gun
T he existence of guns, per se, i s not
the pr imary cause of violence or
criminal behavior. But w rong val–
ues, atti tudes and wrong character
in human beings are!
When you mix wrong human
attitudes and wrong character wi th
easy access to guns, gun v iolence
will inevitably increase.
The big issue t hat needs to be
answered to sol ve the growing per–
sonal security crisis is t he right way
ci tizens shou ld be living and t reat–
ing one another. A nd how govern–
ment should t reat violations of law
so others w ill be deterred from
repeating crimes.
When a societ y achieves r ight
ways of l iving, t he criminally and
violence-minded, not law-abiding
citizens, wi ll live in fear. A nd law–
abiding ci t i zens wi ll have confi–
dence t hat thei r government and
society will protect them.
The Creator, through t he pages
of the Bible, reveals the real causes
of crime and violence. Bu t humans,
for the most par t, have rejected t he
way t hat leads to peace i n t he
streets and in the borne!
Cause ls Spl rltual
You 've heard the phrase, " H e's i n a
bad spirit today!" There is a "fa–
t her" of that bad spi r i t - j ust as
there i s a father of every evi l and
criminal att i tude.
Your Bible reveals t hat the real
father of that bad spi r it long ago
rebelled against t he government
and laws of God.
The C reator originally gave him
rulersh ip over t he earth. But he
allowed lust, greed and competition
to rule his mind. H e decided to
become an aggressor and conquer
God's t hrone. H e wanted to take
control of the universe for himsel f .
T he fi rst archcriminal had h is
name changed f rom Light-br inger
(Lucifer, in Latín) to Satan, mean-
The PLAIN TRUTH