America struggles to have productive discussions about deadly firearms. To get out of this hole, we should strive for more effective non-lethal weapons.
- Many average citizens in the US are armed –– at a rate far above any other country.[1]
- You're more likely to die from your own gun above anyone else's. (e.g. by suicide)[2]
- Gun violence & accidents in the US are prevalent –– worse than any other country.[3].
- Gun ownership has moderate cultural acceptance & significance, and are often seen as an artifact of our freedom.
Considering all of this, we can't easily get rid of guns like other countries have done.
They are too prevalent and popular to remove from society outright.
Improve weapons technology
Improving self-defense technology may give us an escape.
- Civilian weapons haven't changed much in the past century.
- There are already some gun alternatives, such as: pepper spray & tasers. a taser costs only $129[4].
- Though, these technologies aren't sufficient replacements for firearms in self-defense yet.
Here are a few examples of improvements that could be made:
- Automatically send a notification to emergency services with the location when a gun is fired.
- Fingerprint scanner to ensure user of the gun is the owner or another authorized user. (with a sufficient fallback, like a PIN)
- Smarter tranquilizer darts, which estimate a required dose to knock out a target on contact
The fact that a deadly bullet costs less than $1 seems wrong. Life insurance values a human life upwards of $9 million. [5] There is room for weapons manufacturers to charge much more for bullets.
The non-lethal alternative
Non-lethal weapons could become more popular in our culture.
- If demand for them increased, non-lethal weapons may eventually rival or surpass guns for self-defense
- Similar to plant-based meat and electric cars as alternatives.
Ideally, we would avoid permanently killing someone until we have all of the information necessary.
- In life-or-death scenarios, however, we must act quickly, and often shoot to kill.
- These devices must get to high, 99% effectiveness, in order to replace conventional firearms.
A safer planet
Making weapons safer and smarter can achieve widespread support.
We should embrace non-lethal weapons, invest in self-defense technology, and discuss technological improvements to progress beyond the status quo.
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