What If We Made Gun Culture Uncool Like We Did Cigarettes? [View all]
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“Sorry, I can’t bring my kids to your place if there are unsecured guns in the house.” “Thanks for coming over. Do you mind leaving your shoes in the hallways and your pistol off my property?” “I can’t stay over if you keep a gun in the bedroom, especially if we’ve been drinking. Guns make things less safe when the lights go out.”
It’s surprisingly easy to imagine a society where gun ownership is looked down upon, if not scorned outright. This already happened with smoking, at least partly as a result of a public education campaign aimed at young people, and it happened when polite society finally came down against people flying the Confederate flag after the Charleston church shootings this year. Sometimes, when legislative action is difficult or downright impossible, a cultural approach works to curtail dangerous behaviors.
In short, we can make gun ownership uncool.
This was once unthinkable when it came to cigarettes. In post-World War II America, you might have kept an ashtray in your house even if you were a non-smoker, just to accommodate guests. It's hard to imagine anyone doing that today, or even to imagine a smoker with the audacity to ask if they can light up inside.
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/guns-cigarettes-cultural-shift
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