Written by Michael Thervil
America, which is the largest arms dealer in the world, also has the highest rate of gun violence in the world. For many that may be just the cue they need in order to justify carrying a firearm every day - a legal practice known in America as either “Open” or “Concealed Carry”. However, despite the seemingly ever-growing social issue of gun violence and gun related deaths in America, its citizens are still relatively safe when it comes to both not needing to necessarily carry a firearm or having to use a firearm for self-defense.
The truth is Americans don't “need” to have firearms, it instead most Americans are primed to “want” a firearm. From the consumption of daily news that covers gun related crimes, to movies, to the plethora of YouTube commandos, to the advertisements created by gun manufacturers playing on the public’s fear and the manufacturing of flashy colored guns and firearm accessories and other forms of media entertainment which essentially primes the American public to want and not need a firearm. Outside of the rampant conspicuous consumption that surrounds firearms, is the fact that most of the people who purchase firearms in America don't practice enough with them to justify owning them.
If that realization doesn't pique your interest, according to a study conducted by Harvard, most firearms in America are not used in manners of self-defense. Instead, they are stolen by criminals to commit future crimes. In the conclusion of their study, Harvard pointed out:
“We estimate that there are approximately 250,000 gun theft incidents per year, with about 380,000 guns stolen.”
To make that clearer, every 90 seconds a firearm is stolen, and these stolen firearms are more than likely used to commit violent crimes. Many people are asking are we at VEDA Magazine anti-gun, the truth is we are beginning to be. Based upon the facts, data, and statistics generated from reputable academic and governmental sources, it most definitely appears that firearm ownership is more of a liability than an asset to the general society.
In America firearms come in all colors - custom AR-15 shown above.
However, America, being the largest arms dealer in the world, combined with its hyper-fascination with firearms with its “gun subculture” running so deep that it's become totally impossible to climb out of the mess that it's found itself in. So, what can you do to keep yourself safe without having to purchase a firearm while lowering your social liability risk? Practice Risk Management in your daily life. The best part about understanding and employing Risk Management techniques is that they’re free.
The five points of Risk Management are as follows:
RISK ASSESSMENT - evaluate your daily activities and make the necessary adjustments where needed to lower your levels of risk and liability.
RISK AVOIDANCE - the practice of removing either yourself from a risky situation or the removal of a risky person or item from a situation, thus significantly lowering your level of risk to zero.
RISK TRANSFERENCE - if you don’t have to go into a dangerous situation or area, have someone else go in for you.
RISK MITIGATION - if you are faced with something or someone that poses a risk seek out ways in which you can lessen your chances of interfacing with such a risk.
RISK MANAGEMENT - create ways in which you either take or increase your level of control of potential risky situations just in case you are faced with their associated risk because you can’t avoid them.
Utilizing these Risk Management techniques will prove to serve you well so that you can travel and conduct your day-to-day affairs without the need to necessarily carry a firearm. Keep in mind that the improper deployment of a firearm not only increases the probability of you killing someone to include yourself, but it will prevent you from having to deal with the criminal justice system in America, as well as lawsuits along with the financial, psychological, and emotional tolls that tends to be associated with the deployment of a firearm.
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