A Barbaric Privilege

THE VIOLENT MURDERS of John Lennon and Dr. Michael J. Halberstam '53 last week sent shock waves through the United States and the rest of the world. Their deaths received attention because of their prominent positions in the worlds of music and medicine, but the shootings were only two of thousands that take the lives of American men and women each year. These sordid statistics underscore the need to outlaw the manufacture and use of handguns in this country.

Legislative attempts to restrict the sale of firearms have met with determined opposition from lobbies like the National Rifle Association. These groups--arguing that "Guns don't kill, people do," and "Criminals will be able to get guns anyway"--have successfully blocked reforms in state and federal gun control statutes.

But their arguments are miscalculated, reflecting misunderstanding or deliberate ignorance about the way most murders involving firearms are committed. Most shootings are committed not by professional criminals, but by otherwise law-abiding citizens who, during fits of rage, turn hand-guns against close friends or relatives. Estimates suggest that these "crimes of passion" account for nearly four-fifths of all murders with guns in the United States each year.

In most states, handguns are readily available and relatively inexpensive. With millions of guns circulating in streets and homes, it is not surprising that more than twelve thousand people each year become the victims of senseless shooting. In Great Britain, where handgun sales are banned, the murder rate is dramatically lower than in the U.S.

No legislation will totally eradicate the distribution and use of handguns, but laws banning handgun manufacture and limiting the use of firearms by police forces will greatly reduce the number of deaths by shooting that afflicts the country.

The firearm lobby staunchly defends what it claims is the right of Americans, guaranteed by the Second Amendment, to own and use guns. Their political power must be overcome by citizens determined to put an end to this senseless waste of life. Handguns have no purpose other than to kill. A ban on their use should not be seen as a violation of liberties, but as the abrogation of a barbaric privilege that has no place in modern society.