Guns Don't Kill... Boys Do

It seems to me that as of late, it's nearly impossible to turn on a TV, read a newspaper, or listen to the radio without hearing some form of a gun control debate.

In the aftermath of the Arizona shooting, in which six people were killed and 14 were wounded, everyone has an opinion about what laws and regulations could help to prevent tragedies like this occur in the future.

Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old accused of shooting U.S. Representative Gabriele Giffords, was able to purchase a Gloc semiautomatic pistol months before the shooting, despite his history of mental illness.

Since the creepy, crazy-eyed photos of Loughner emerged, politicians and media figures have tirelessly debated about who and what we should blame.

While lax gun control laws hold the spotlight, here are some of the other issues that have been brought up in an effort to make sense of the shooting:

• Lack of security
• Polarizing politicians
• Irresponsible journalism
• Loughner is just a lunatic (This is a Fox News favorite)
• Health care for the mentally ill
• Legalized abortion (?!?... Bizarre suggestion made by Linda Gray, an Arizona state senator)

In my opinion, what's missing from this debate is a discussion about the way boys and men are conditioned to become violent in America.

If it's not already obvious that men are disproportionately responsible for violent crimes in America, check out the crime statistics from the 2008 U.S. Census.

According to the 2008 census, 89% of those arrested for murder were men.

Is it surprising that boys, who are given toy guns as soon as they can walk and are taught that manliness is defined by toughness, are the ones who are actually killing people?

In the flood of coverage following the Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Arizona shootings, the mainstream media never engaged in questions about the correlations between gender and violence.

Tough Guise, a documentary film by Jackson Katz, does a great job at analyzing media and culture to argue that widespread violence in America should be understood as part of a "crisis in masculinity".

While I don't believe that anyone has all the answers, I think it is important that we ask the right questions.

Gun control laws are important. Jared Loughner is insane.

 

But like many American boys and men, Loughner (who wrote "die bitch" on a letter from Senator Giffords before shooting her in the head) was likely unable to express vulnerability by communicating his frustrations.

Instead, he flexed his muscles and shot twenty people.