I remember writing about my travels in the United States during the ’80s, as I was spending unlimited quality time with natives across the country. It was a period when my friend Isaac and I had just completed our military service and all we longed for was to get as far away as possible from the army life, restrictions, and khaki uniforms.
America was a mystery to us. On one level, we valued the respect for privacy, we enjoyed the vast open planes where no one could be found, we appreciated the ease in which people were able to find jobs and succeed in them even if they didn’t acquire a diploma. But on another level altogether, we were surprised by the rigidity and the lack of capacity to improvise. Americans back then, and definitely today, are fantastic planners, but if their plans deviate from their normal routine, they quite often get lost and are incapable of improvising in the unknown situation.
As two young men who were familiar with conventional weapons from the military service, we knew how to handle guns and had a great respect for those who initiated the laws which forbid (most) civilians to use them. Therefore, it was shocking for us to travel through America and witness random people buying guns in flea markets and remote stores. From our standpoint, it was hard to perceive that anyone who wanted a gun, could get one.
When asked about the topic — people at bars, campgrounds or on the bus would reply, "We are in charge of our own lives and no one will tell us whether we can own one gun or fifty.” Others told us that it was their personal right to defend themselves in case of danger. We were especially alarmed when one guy shared that he had trained his kids to shoot from the age of six and as a junior high school gift, he bought them their own personal pistol for self-defense.
When I watch the national news in America and see innocent kids and people get killed and injured by a mad person who decided to go on a shooting spree with an AK-47 (a Russian automatic machine gun) or an M16 (US-made automatic machine gun), I cannot believe my own eyes and ears. These tragic events are so wrong and out-of-line, that pure logic cannot even be applied to explain.
Let me share the example of buying and handling firearms in Israel to help some readers in the US understand what I mean better. Since serving in the military in Israel is mandatory, almost every man and woman in this country has learned how to fire a rifle. We know how to clean it, load it, shoot it and last but not least — how to be cautious with it. The streets are full with young adults commuting home for the weekends carrying their weapons strapped to their shoulders. It is an unusual scene for an outsider, but the locals don’t notice the peculiarity of it anymore. At the end of two or three years, each soldier turns in their uniforms and equipment, puts on civilian clothes and says goodbye to guns.
The interesting part of it all happens if an Israeli wishes to purchase a gun for "self-defense,” as my encounters in the States call it. Choosing a gun at a store is not a problem, but you would probably go through your own Via Dolorosa which may end up with one big disappointment. Most applicants will be denied at their initial application, unless there is a substantial reason for the purchase. The Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the police, initiates a thorough research of the applicants’ background — criminal, civilian, and military, anything which might indicate if there is any reason to deny their request.
I acknowledge that my account of the process may bore some of you, but I couldn’t resist at a time like this when the news is filled with cases involving unnecessary shooting and killings. There is no reason for it and the death toll could be reduced drastically. Americans should realize that the so-called "Gun Control” which already exists in so many countries does not burden the individual’s freedom. Isn’t it worth the many lives that could be saved in the future?