Guns Galore, Solutions Scarce

The Pakistan Muslim League (a political party) caught my eye the other day with an intriguing post on Guns Galore on their blog. Moving beyond my confused expression upon discovery of such a blog, I found the post surprisingly candid. I do not know how reliable its claims are or what its internal or public sources might be. However, I will be generous for a moment and give them the benefit of the doubt (but read quickly; this may literally only last a moment). If there is any validity to these statistics, the problem is even more rampant than imagined. A few lines particularly jumped out at me:

We have laws to regulate gun ownership and usage but they are widely flouted, and anybody who really wants a gun and has the money and contacts can be armed and dangerous within hours – minutes in some areas. Our elected representatives to federal and provincial assemblies all have a “quota” of firearms licences that they can issue to favoured constituents, and there are any number of “security guards” who tote a range of weaponry with an indifferent set of skills when it comes to usage. Add to this the millions of weapons that are in private hands, unlicensed and undeclared but lying under beds or in cupboards against domestic intrusion or just to keep handy in case of trouble, and you have a population that is armed out of all proportion to the need to physically protect itself. The recent case of “mis-declaration” is one of a chain stretching back years, has the connivance of “influentials” and corrupt customs officials and is unlikely to be broken by any half-hearted “investigation”.

What is surprising about this besides the colorful language? The accelerating speed of acquisition. The existence and admittance of a quota system. The trend of unlicensed private ownership (assumed here to refer to non-combatants and non-militants) despite the provisions for legal ownership. And not least of all, the acknowledgement of a population that “is armed out of all proportion to the need to physically protect itself.” If these are recognized problems, where are the efforts to address them? What am I missing here? Violence begets more violence and for many in India and Pakistan, escaping the vicious cycle is implausible or impossible if it dares to threaten their survival. The governments complain about insecurities arising from their neighbors (ie, each other) and yet it is the inability of these governments to effectively cut this cycle that actually further solidifies it for locals in far off villages. If the government cannot assure your security on a general level, if you have to answer to violent actors with nowhere else to go, if you are driven to acquire illegal guns just in case… Well what is the answer then?

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