We have seen many gun bans in the world in a (supposed) attempt to decrease homicides, suicides, and other gun deaths. A number of stories lately may indicate that by targeting the instrument instead of the individual, we may be making things more dangerous. Before anyone accuses me of saying more guns would allow for “safe murder,” let me be clear: We need to target the actions of individuals, not the instruments they use.

In Japan, three men were found dead in a car, after a “detergent suicide.” In this alarming trend in Japan, common chemicals are mixed, creating deadly hydrogen sulfide gas. Recently, 350 people were displaced from the fumes of another such suicide, and the victims mother almost died. These suicides put neighbors, family members, and rescue workers at risk. 

In England, a gang of girls blew up a house, killing a neighbor, apparently in a feud over a boy. Again, by addressing the object, and not the cause, an innocent person was killed instead of the crime being prevented.

This is about addressing the cause of the behavior instead of the instrument. The girls shooting the victim would have been just as bad, the suicides are not made “better” if they occur with a gun, and innocent bystanders get caught in crossfire, but by not addressing the core problems we HAVE NOT PREVENTED ANY CRIMES, and made the side effects worse in some cases.