Homegrown terrorism

American politics, American thought, American society have all been dominated these past six years by terrorism, the spectre of terrorism, and wars bred by or blamed on terrorism. Yet the terror that pervades American life most perniciously slips below the radar of American discourse.

Murder by gunfire. Or more precisely, handguns.September 11, 2001 was one of the darkest moments in American history. Almost 3,000 innocents were killed that awful day, and the memories and images of that terrible day are seared into our brains. The toll of war has been even worse; as of today, 4,171 more Americans have been killed fighting the wars spawned in the wake of September 11.

Yet homicide by handgun claimed more Americans in that appalling year than did terrorism, and that's not even counting another 2,239 homicide victims killed by other types of guns in 2001. Nor does it count an even greater number of suicides by handgun.

Neither has war, with all its horror and violence and agony and waste, come close to killing nearly as many Americans as domestic gunfire. We've been at war in Iraq for four and a half six years, but the death toll from gun-related homicides here at home in just the one year of 2002 was almost exactly three times the number of Americans killed in Iraq during all these years of war.

In terms of international terrorism 2001 was thankfully an aberration; terrorism at home has been a constant worry, but so far we haven't suffered any more casualties on our shores. Tragically, however, it was also an aberration when it comes to deaths by gunfire, but in the opposite sense, for 2001 saw fewer firearm homicides in the U.S. than any other year since at least 1976; the toll is almost always worse.Simply put, even in these tragic years following the horrific attacks of September 11, gun-related violence has scarred the lives of far more American families than have international terrorism and war combined. Think of the people you know: how many have suffered loss from terrorism or war, compared to how many have been affected by handgun violence?

Yet the issue of domestic gun-related violence isn't even on the table in American politics. No presidential candidate would dare suggest taking handguns off our streets. No legislative leader makes any effort to close the wide open market for these deadly weapons. No bipartisan coalitions in Congress call for controlling these agents of death. The few politicians who favor even the mildest efforts to limit access to handguns are on the defensive trying to hold on to such few limits as exist, much too wary of reactionary propaganda to push for anything more meaningful.

This nation is supposedly waging a "global war on terrorism," a "long war" which it is claimed we will pursue until that distant day when "victory" is achieved. But the reality is that we are right now being terrorized at home by terrorists native to our own land armed with guns legally sold throughout the country. When are we going to fight terror where it hurts us the most? When are we going to enlist in this war on terrorism? When are we going to demand that our elected representatives stand up to the apologists for this form of terror, and consign these murderous weapons to the scrap heap?

Note: this was originally posted on ketches, yaks & hawks 13 August 2007