Violent crime is down significantly, and interest in hunting has fallen off over the last several years, yet gun ownership has gone up. Why?
I would suggest three reasons:
1. Local TV news coverage: Our local TV stations have essentially given up covering local government; their broadcasts are devoted almost exclusively to the coverage of crime and disasters. Under the circumstances, it is easy to understand why people would believe that violent criminals are running wild in our community, even though the statistics show that it isn’t true.
2. National media coverage of terrorism: You would never know that your chances of dying from a lightning strike are greater than your chances of being killed by a terrorist.
3. Guns are a Reactionary totem: You will recall that the bumper sticker says that “God, guns and guts made America great.” From the Reactionary perspective, God is no longer respected in this country, and their supposed representatives don’t have the guts to stand up to the liberal agenda, so guns are the only thing left in the holy trinity upon which they can rely.